Child Bride
by CelestialSeaWitch
Summary: The last thing Hermione ever expected was to be married at seventeen, raising a child that was not her own, and stuck in the past. All adventures come with a bitter start, she simply hopes hers won't have a bitter end. Sirmione. Slight marriage law. Time travel.
1. Chapter One

**_Warnings:_**_ mentions of child abuse, sexual abuse, attempted non-con, mentions of underage sex, and lots and lots of sex. This story is Sirius/Hermione and begins with a (barely) 17 year old Hermione and fully aged Sirius Black. If that isn't your cup of tea, you should really stop now. If you're willing to grit your teeth and get past it, the story jumps to a younger Sirius within about three chapters. Time travel and slight marriage law._

_For those of you familiar with my other story As it Should Be, you'll find some similar elements of the marriage law aspect and a young child involved. Honestly, completely coincidental. I have loads of stories, these two just happen to be the furthest along. I promise you that it is not the same as my other story in any way. The plotlines are completely different and of course, so is the ship!_

_Chapter One_

_\- August 1996 -_

"There must be some sort of mistake," Hermione whispered, on the verge of tears. Her hands were balled into tight little fists in her lap. The nails that were digging into her skin and nearly drawing blood were the only thing keeping her from fainting.

"I'm afraid not, Miss. Granger," Dumbledore replied regretfully. His twinkling blue eyes stared down at her sadly from the head of the table in the dining room of Grimmauld Place. The candlelight made the twinkle look mocking and sinister, or perhaps she was projecting. "I do apologize, none of us even thought to consider your being of age for the law because of your use of a time turner in third year." Hermione had never hated herself or her studiousness before that moment. If at all possible, the burning inferno in her chest could have sent her hurtling back in time to stop an overeager third year Hermione Granger from taking so many classes. "If Professor Snape had not thought on it at the last moment, we might have missed it which — I am most certain — is what Voldemort had intended."

Hermione's whiskey coloured eyes flickered over to the Potions Master. His beady black eyes were fixated on her, as she had noticed them to almost always be since she was in fourth year. His eyes darted across her face — her body — and Hermione shuddered. She had no doubt in her mind that it had not been Voldemort's intention for her to end up in this position — forced to find an acceptable husband before the due date of the Marriage Law, lest she end up with whomever the Ministry deemed appropriate.

"But, as we have explained the plan, you can rest assured that you will be well taken care of, Miss. Granger." At Dumbledore's words, Snape's pales lips curled into a smile that made Hermione's skin crawl. She almost wanted to take her chances with the Ministry's match.

The young witch quickly turned back to the headmaster. "Please, sir. There must be someone… closer in age, perhaps? I mean… this is…" Her words caught in her throat and she had to force them the rest of the way out, her eyes burning. "…this is the rest of my life."

"I understand, Miss. Granger." Dumbledore replied in his patented concerned tone, one she suddenly felt sounded extremely and utterly fake. "But we do believe part of this plan was for Voldemort to get his hands on you. Having you married to Snape will provide the illusion you're within his clutches. Instead, you will be safe." Safe. Hermione did not think she'd be safe anywhere near Severus Snape.

Hermione shuddered visibly as she breathed out, trying desperately to contain her tears. She gave up. The just barely of age witch jumped to her feet and raced from the dining room. She pushed past Ginny, Ron, and Harry all trying to eavesdrop from the other side.

"Oi!"

"Hermione, come back!"

She didn't stop. Hermione raced up the old steps of Grimmauld Place two at a time. Her tears streamed freely down her cheeks. She wouldn't — she couldn't — marry that man. She'd quite honestly rather die. She'll give up her magic. Leave the Wizarding World. She had her OWLS now, she didn't need to continue on at Hogwarts. Her parents would be ecstatic. Maybe they could take an extended trip to France?

But as her feet forced her up the next staircase to the third floor, Hermione knew that wasn't an option. She could never leave Harry or the Weasleys. They were just as much her family as her parents were. She couldn't leave them in this mess of a war, not when they needed her.

So, she would have to do what she did best. Figure out another solution.

Hermione threw open the door to the third floor parlour room and raced inside. "Marry me!" she exclaimed, her cheeks blotchy and tears streaming down her face.

Sirius and Remus' heads both whipped around to Hermione. Sirius opened his mouth, a smile touching his lips, but the words died the second he realized Hermione was crying. "Hermione? Bloody hell, Hermione what's wrong?"

"The law," she sobbed, "it's the law. And there isn't anyone left and I—"

"Hermione," Remus cut in gently, "you're not seventeen yet. You're exempt from the law."

"Good thing too," Sirius cut in, "because You-Know-Who would love nothing more than to get his hands on the witch that outdid his OWL scores."

Hermione shook her head, her curls flying about her face. "No! Don't you remember?" Her eyes were nearly wild as she looked at Sirius. "I used a time turner — in third year!" Sirius' eyes slowly widened. "I'm nearly eight months older than I was before and the Ministry catalogues that sort of time usage and…" She sobbed again, her hand covering her mouth. "Please?"

Sirius set his glass of pumpkin juice down on the coffee table as he moved to the edge of his seat. "Hey now, it's going to be alright, kitten. Look, Dumbledore is going to take care of you. He'll set you up with one of the twins or—"

"Taken," Hermione insisted. "They're all taken. The law passes in two days. I have…" Hermione's face crumpled and her tears began to fall anew. "I have to get married tomorrow. What if I'm given to a Death Eater?"

"You won't be," Remus insisted calmly. "Hermione, you're far too important to Harry, to all of us, and to the Order. You aren't going to be left to the… wolves."

Remus might as well have been talking to a brick wall for all the good his words served Hermione. She immediately turned back to Sirius. "Sirius, please, I don't want to end up with someone terrible."

"And you think I'd be a good substitute? Remus would be a better bet, if he were eligible." He shook his head. "Hermione, love, it's going to be okay. Dumbledore always has a plan. You don't need to go and lower yourself to marrying an old dog like me."

Hermione opened her mouth, but no words came out. She knew — she knew — that if she told Sirius she was set to marry Snape, he'd marry her. Sirius would marry her in a heartbeat. But she couldn't do it. Looking into his eyes, she saw how broken he still was from Azkaban. She couldn't ask him to take on protecting her from Voldemort when he was only just learning on how to cope without alcohol to soothe his pain.

Hermione hugged herself and tried not to sigh in resignation. Another way, there must be another way. She nodded sadly at Sirius and before either he or Remus could say anything more, she dashed out of the room as quickly as she'd come.

Sirius and Remus both stared at the closed door long after the young witch had gone. "That poor girl," Remus whispered.

Sirius swallowed thickly. "She'll be alright. Dumbledore won't let her down." The sentiment sounded false even to his own ears. Sirius had many grievances with the old headmaster, but that didn't stop him from believing that the old wizard would find someone for Hermione. It did, however, make him question who the wizard might choose.

Sirius pondered over the question all day and well into the night. He stayed up with his glasses of pumpkin juice and stared off into the middle distance. His mind went through all the names and faces of wizards Dumbledore was possibly considering for Hermione. Slowly, each of the names and faces were matched with another witch. Sirius couldn't, for the life of him, figure out who Hermione would marry.

When Sirius finally descended the two flights of stairs, it was morning. Coffee was brewing and what smelled like a full english was being cooked. Sirius' stomach suddenly felt inexplicably empty and he wondered if he'd had anything that wasn't pumpkin juice in the past day. He couldn't quite remember.

"Where is everyone?"

Molly Weasley paused in her fierce whisking of a bowl of what looked to be pancake batter. She glanced over her shoulder at the old Marauder and raised an eyebrow imperiously. "Still in their beds, I'd imagine. It's not even noon yet and you know how children can be."

Sirius glanced around at the empty chairs. "Usually one or two is up. Where's Hermione?" She'd probably been up all night as well, sick with worry. The library, Sirius thought. She was probably camped out in the library.

He turned to go check there when Molly responded, "At the school."

Sirius spun back around. "Hogwarts? Why?"

"Haven't you heard? She's eighteen, poor thing. None of us knew. She's signing the papers now and then the bonding ceremony will take place after." Molly sighed heavily. "I only wish my Ron was of age, or Harry. They'd both have married her in a heartbeat."

"Do you know who she's matched with?"

Molly, who'd gone back to bustling about the kitchen, hummed. She blinked and looked up, as if only just registering his question. "Hm? Oh! Yes, I think it's to be Severus." Sirius' heart constricted painfully. "Such a good thing too. They'll be at school together so he'll always be by her." Sirius couldn't hide his scowl at that.

He was absolutely positive Snape would love that fact. Merlin's balls, he cursed to himself, that greasy git. Why hadn't Hermione said anything? He'd warned her back in fifth year to stay away from Snape. Sirius and Remus both had not been oblivious to the looks Snape had sent the young witch. He could remember how scared and uncomfortable she had looked when she'd gone to him about it. And she'd gone to him again for help with this.

Sirius closed his eyes and mentally cursed a long string of insults to the Ministry, Dumbledore, Snape, and the Minister too while he was at it. When he opened his eyes again, Molly was watching him with that single brow raised yet again. "When did she leave?"

Molly pursed her lips. "Not too long ago."

Sirius rubbed a hand down his face. He was not considering this. He couldn't actually be — ah fuck. Sirius turned and raced towards the floo. He disappeared through the green flames and left behind a smirking Molly Weasley. Molly wiped her hands on her apron. She popped a blueberry in her mouth to stop herself from smiling smugly. Sirius Black would take care of everything. Hermione was not marrying Severus Snape, not on her watch.

\/

"I have the papers here. You will sign with this quill and then head to the Ministry to have the bonding ceremony performed. Understand?" Snape nodded from where he stood by Hermione's chair, hands clasped tightly behind his back. Hermione swallowed and attempted a nod that she wasn't quite sure came across. No one seemed to notice.

Dumbledore extended the quill across the desk to Hermione. Her hand shook. She tentatively raised it, absently noting how pale her skin looked and wondered where her blood was rushing to.

The floo flared.

"Am I late?"

Hermione's head whipped around. "Sirius!" The wizard in question smiled at her charmingly and winked. Hermione couldn't help but smile. He was here. He was actually here.

"What're you doing here, Black?" Snape hissed over Hermione's head.

"A very good question, Severus," Dumbledore commented calmly. "Sirius?"

"Well, I heard about Hermione's little dilemma and was confused — no — offended that I wasn't asked. I mean, after all, I am a pureblooded wizard of the Ancient and Noble House of Black," Hermione grinned at his ability to sound both sarcastic and snobbish all at once, "and more than capable of taking care of our little witch." He smiled at her warmly.

Severus' fingers curled around the head of Hermione's armchair. "She already has a match." He sneered and added, "And you're nothing more than a criminal."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "I was proven to be innocent after the battle at the Department of Mysteries. And all the compensation the Ministry gave me over that little issue could easily be used to ensure Hermione's safety and comfort." He turned to Dumbledore and tapped the man's desk. "I'll put it in writing, if you like."

Dumbledore tried not to sigh heavily and failed miserably. "That's not necessary, Sirius."

"I insist."

Snape leaned forward as he sneered, "You're not impressing her into marrying you, Black. This is out of your hands."

"I'm not trying to impress the witch, I want her taken care of. That's the point of this, isn't it? To protect Hermione?" Snape's lip curled but he said nothing. Hermione looked back and forth between the two, her heart was racing.

Dumbledore leaned back in his seat and clasped his hands over his stomach. He eyed the two men over the rims of his half moon spectacles. "Well, I do suppose both of you have your own advantages — as it were — in aiding Miss. Granger." His blue eyes focused on the young witch in question. "Therefore, I leave the decision to you Miss.—"

"Sirius," Hermione answered quickly before Dumbledore could finish his question. "I choose Sirius." The wizard in question smirked arrogantly and ran a hand through his curly black hair. Snape's beady black eyes looked like they were trying to Avada Sirius then and there.

Sirius turned his arrogant smile on the headmaster. "Where do I sign?" Dumbledore raised the quill and gestured to the dotted line at the bottom of the parchment. Sirius took the quill and signed his name with a flourish. He handed the quill to Hermione and his smile turned from arrogant to warm again. She signed the parchment.

"F?"

"Nope." Hermione wrote the letter down and added a leg to the stickman. "And 42."

Sirius blinked quickly and looked around. "42? I thought we were playing Hangman?"

Hermione grinned as she looked sidelong at him. "We are. I've also been counting the amount of times that girl walks by so she can stare at you."

Sirius looked around around the office of the Department of Matrimonial Bondings. "Which one? The one with the…" He coughed and looked away. "…nice blouse?"

Hermione rolled her eyes but she couldn't hold back her smile. "The one with the legs."

Sirius made a mildly impressed face and nodded once. He leaned back casually and spread his arm along the back of Hermione's chair. "Well, she better use them to keep on walking." He rested his ankle on his opposite knee and slouched in all his elegant pureblood glory. His smile when he turned his face back to her was smirking and charismatic. "I've got my hands full already."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "More than you know." Sirius raised an eyebrow back and his smirk grew. Hermione sighed and looked around. "How long have we been here?"

"Days," Sirius replied dramatically. Hermione gave him a look. "A while," he amended. "We should be up soon." Hermione nodded and took a deep breath. Sirius reached across his lap and took her hand in his own. He squeezed gently. "It's going to be fine, kitten." Hermione nodded. Sirius bent his head forward and whispered, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

She turned and smiled at him warmly. "I know. Thank you." She let out a soft sigh. "I'm just nervous about the bond." Sirius tried to put on a brave face but Hermione could easily see through it.

There was no way to know what sort of bond they would get until they were in the meeting. There were dozens of different kinds of bonds that one could be assigned based on magical power, magical compatibility, and the Ministry official's mood. Sirius remembered when Lily and James had gone for their magical bond. The couple before them had annoyed the official and were stuck with a bond that seared in pain whenever they were too far apart. This was the rest of their lives and unfortunately, the Ministry felt they needed a hand in that as well as everything else — as per usual.

"Whatever it is," Sirius finally said, "we'll figure it out." Hermione nodded. She'd frantically read over every type of bond the night before. It had not helped. Several of them she had been able to cross off her mental list of 'Oh Merlin Please No' when she ended up with Sirius instead of Snape. She could handle sharing emotions with Sirius if she had to, memories as well. Doubly so with Sirius since she was well aware he knew occlumency, a fact he'd disclosed to the Order in a fit of rage when he found out Snape was teaching Harry that skill and not himself.

"Mr. Black?" Sirius turned at the sound of his name. A short and pudgy man was standing at the door with a clipboard in hand. He had a bulbous nose and straw coloured moustache beneath it that was overly dishevelled. This was the man that would determine the future of their marriage — of the rest of their lives. The man eyed Sirius and Hermione sitting together and cleared his throat. "If you will?"

Sirius nodded once. "Of course," he said, attempting to remain respectful. This was not a man he wanted to annoy. He stood and held his hand out for Hermione just like his mother beat into him to do when he was young.

The Ministry official led them down a hall and into a large, dark chamber with five walls. At the centre of the room was painted a silvery pentagram with each point corresponding to a corner of the room. Hermione and Sirius hung back near the door, their hands clasped tightly.

"My name is Freemon Markell," the pudgy man introduced as he walked through the room, around the pentagram, and to the other side, "and I will be surveying and assigning your magical bond today. Please leave your wands at the door and enter the pentagram."

Hermione and Sirius each turned to one of the side tables that bookended the door. There was a small pillow of fabric with an indentation made for a wand. Hermione placed hers in the fabric and Sirius did the same with his own. He walked forward and paused only when he realized Hermione had not followed. Sirius turned and smiled kindly at her nervous expression. Wordlessly, he held out his hand for her again. Hermione smiled gratefully and took it. Together, they entered the pentagram.

Freemon watched them with an impassive expression upon his face. His eyes, however, flickered across their forms rapidly. He took in every interaction and expression that passed between the two of them and rapidly catalogued them. He'd already fully surveyed their magical culpabilities and compatibility. They were… quite the couple.

A magical bond, if catalogued incorrectly, could be a horrible thing. Many couples past had questioned Freemon's choice of marital bonds. He had been known to choose ones that, at first, seemed highly irregular. But Freemon prided himself on being able to read the strengths and weaknesses of a relationship and this couple… well, it would be a toss up how this couple felt about the decision he was going to make.

"Join both your hands," Freemon instructed. The couple did as told. "Stare into one another's eyes." The room filled with the tension of magic. The pentagram around them glowed a bright red colour. "Now, this next part is very important. Do not stop breathing."

Sirius and Hermione both gasped as the magic from the pentagram suddenly surged into their bodies. Their backs shot up ramrod straight and their hands tightened their holds on one another. Hermione forced her eyes to stay open as the magic rushed through her veins and thrummed beneath her skin. She felt the fierce hotness of the magic in every part of her body. Her legs throbbed, her heart clenched, her nails ached.

Her mouth opened. A gasp escaped where she was sure it would have been a scream and then — the pain abated. She remembered to breathe. The magic settled in her body. Hermione could feel a warm ball of energy at the centre of her heart. She knew this to be her magical core, though she had never felt it before. Her eyes were still locked on Sirius' and from the way his brows drew together, she knew he could feel his own magical core as well.

The pain had left but the intensity of the magic pushing in on her body and rushing through her veins was still present. Her fingers tightened reflexively around Sirius' as the power surged in a massive wave around her.

Hermione gasped as the magic finally released her. Her knees buckled and she fell forward into Sirius. He hissed as he caught her and fell to his knees. Hermione's fingers clutched at his leather jacket and her head fell forward. The second her forehead touched his chin they both gasped. Magic swelled within their magical cores. Hermione's skin tingled where Sirius touched. She could feel the heat of him through his jacket and her fingers ached to press against his firm chest. Sirius' fingers spread across the width of her waist, sending tingles along Hermione's sides.

"Blessed be," Freemon said with subdued, but genuine with congratulations once the pentagram has stopped glowing. "You are now bonded. The bond you have received is a physical one, as I'm sure you've already noted. You have roughly twenty-four hours to consummate the marriage or the bond will slowly fade away."

Still breathing heavily, Hermione pulled her head back slightly so she could meet Sirius' gaze. His eyes were a steely grey colour that sent a thrill down her spine not unlike the tingles she felt beneath her fingers that had moved to touch the soft fabric of his shirt. Twenty-four hours. She tried not to grin.

* * *

Why am I posting this? I have most definitely not finished As It Should Be but I've been really killing it with this story as of late and I thought I'd share it. Man, if you guys only knew how many stories I was hiding in my laptop. It's criminal. Any ship requests? I've got more Harmony, more Sirmione, two Jamiones, and a Thormione too.

I don't have a problem you have a problem!

Okay, please review, lots of love xx


	2. Chapter Two

_Chapter Two_

_\- August 1996 -_

There was a note on the table when they arrived home. The kitchen was empty and the house oddly silent for a headquarters location. Sirius picked up the note and flipped it open. He looked up and around the gloomy kitchen. "Remus cleared everyone out. We've got the place to ourselves."

Sirius and Hermione's eyes met briefly before both looked away. It was not lost on either of them what they had been left alone to do. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Sirius to say something. The young witch may not have been a virgin but she was a far cry from confident enough to start a sexual conversation with someone she wasn't already sexual with.

Sirius said nothing.

Hermione turned her back to him and rolled her eyes. "What do we do now?" she ventured innocently. She glanced over her shoulder at him.

Sirius met her gaze briefly before looking back around the kitchen, his brows drawn together in consternation. She couldn't blame him for being as nervous as he was. After all, he thought he was about to devirginize his godson's best friend — not that he was. She just really didn't know how to tell him that.

"Food!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed. "Aren't you hungry? I'm starved." He moved briskly towards the fridge with false enthusiasm. "Can't remember the last time I ate, actually."

Hermione pursed her lips at that comment, not that it was an unusual one. Sirius was often lost in his thoughts and memories of the past, so much so that he skipped meals more than a few times a week.

"Fuck," Sirius cursed upon opening the icebox.

"Language," Hermione scolded as she moved towards his side.

He stepped back so she could see into the icebox and gestured with his hand. "There's nothing in the fridge."

"The fridge is fully stoked, Sirius. Mrs. Weasley just did the shopping yesterday, look." There were fruits and vegetables a plenty, meats, fish, and cheeses. It was more than enough for the two of them.

"Molly usually cooks. She hasn't cooked."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, unimpressed. "We could cook."

"You can cook?"

"You can't?"

Sirius made a face. "No, unfortunately Azkaban only offers classes in baking. I can make a mean triple layered chocolate cake with chocolate ganache." Hermione tried not to laugh as she pictured Sirius in a chef's hat, covered in chocolate and flour with a bunch of similarly dressed dementors.

She nodded once, still suppressing her laughter as she said, "Well, lucky for us, I can cook very well." Hermione pulled various things from the icebox and placed them on the counter. "You can help."

Sirius gave her a wide eyed look but didn't object. "What are we making?"

"Chicken casserole." She filled a pot with water and set it to boil on the stovetop. Hermione came back around to the counter that Sirius was standing at, staring at the vegetables. She rolled her eyes. "You can try cutting them?"

He nodded, eyes wide. "Oh, right. I can do that." He took a massive knife from the butcher block and made it only a step before Hermione stopped him.

"That's for bread, Sirius. Use this one." She gave him a significantly smaller knife.

Sirius sniffed but nodded once as he said, "Less impressive, but alright."

"It still gets the job done."

"But with less of a flourish."

"The flourish is in the final product."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Often in baking as well." Hermione smiled as she shook her head. She wondered if she peppered him with enough baking questions that he would eventually reveal he didn't know anything — knowing Sirius, probably not.

Hermione left him to chopping vegetables and turned to readying the rest of the dinner. Despite the fact he was only supposed to be cutting vegetables, Sirius somehow managed to nearly burn the pasta and almost threw out the raw chicken.

"I've just never seen it like that," he protested as they washed up the kitchen after dinner.

"You've never seen raw chicken?" Hermione questioned disbelievingly.

Sirius shrugged and handed her a dirty plate. "When would I?"

Hermione huffed a laugh and shook her head. "Didn't you live alone for awhile? How'd you survive?"

"I ate out, mostly. Or at James and Lily's place. We'd do dinner every Friday night after Harry was born."

Hermione smiled warmly. "That's nice. I'm sure Harry would love to hear about that."

Sirius hummed and nodded. He handed her the last of the dishes and their fingers brushed. A spark of magical electricity shot through them. Hermione gasped lightly and Sirius sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth. It was the first time they'd touched each other since they left the Ministry.

The dishes slipped into the sink with a loud clatter. Neither of the two noticed the noise. Their fingers still touched lightly, teasing one another with the magical sparks it sent through their bodies. Slowly their hands clasped with interlocking fingers. Hermione looked up at Sirius from beneath her lashes.

He kissed her.

The second their lips touched, everything seemed to fall into place. The magic erupted between them like fireworks. Their bodies gravitated towards one another and this time they couldn't resist.

Sirius wrapped his arms around Hermione's petite waist and pulled her close. She spread her fingers through his dark curls. Sirius growled lightly and nipped at her bottom lip. She opened her mouth in response and Sirius took full advantage. Hermione honestly thought she might be in heaven. What Sirius could do with his tongue could probably put him back in Azkaban.

Hermione broke away and gasped for breath. She reached out towards the still running tap.

"Leave it," Sirius growled. His hand shot out and he wandlessly shut the tap off. He wrapped his arm back around her waist and lifted her up. Hermione let out a startled laugh. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Sirius froze, suddenly remembering himself. "Is this—?"

Hermione kissed him soundly. Sirius closed his eyes as he savoured the pleasant thrum that ignited beneath his skin. He'd never experienced anything like it before.

Hermione nipped at his lip and the need inside Sirius flared. He turned and blindly stumbled out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. Hermione's fingers nimbly unbuttoned his black dress shirt. Her fingers touched the tattoos on his chest and he couldn't stop himself from slamming her back into the nearest wall. He growled again as he deepened the kiss.

Hermione moaned. He undid her jacket and shoved it off her body. Hermione took the moment to try and catch her breath. Her hands spread across Sirius' tattooed chest. Her normally whiskey coloured eyes were dark.

Sirius' hands burned Hermione as they trailed slowly down her body. He grabbed her and thrust her closer again as he continued on his way to the stairs. Hermione's jacket lay forgotten in the hall.

Sirius' shirt was left on the first flight of stairs.

Hermione pulled her jumper over her head when they reached the second floor landing. She laughed as she tossed it over her head. Her fingers threaded through Sirius' hair as she angled his head to kiss him again. Sirius nearly fumbled the last few steps. Merlin's beard, he thought, she was good at that.

They fell into Sirius' door and Hermione groaned when the corner arch dug into her back. Sirius fumbled for the handle.

The door opened and he stumbled towards the bed. Hermione's back hit the bed and the two bounced. Sirius pulled back briefly and began unbuttoning her blouse. Hermione sat up to help him pull it off. Sirius groaned when he found a t-shirt beneath her blouse.

"How many bloody layers are you wearing?" he moaned in despair as he knelt between her legs.

"I thought I was marrying Snape when I got dressed."

Sirius raised his eyebrows and nodded once. "Fair point." He grinned mischievously and asked, "Are you wearing laundry day knickers?"

Hermione snorted and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "My ugliest granny panties, thank you."

Sirius snorted and laughed. He kissed her and gently guided her onto her back again. His kisses trailed down her neck and over the fabric of her shirt. Lips captured her nipple through her shirt and she gasped in delight. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. She bit her lip to hold in her whimper as Sirius moved further south. His fingers found the buckle at her jeans and he pressed a kiss to her sternum as he slowly pulled her trousers down. Hermione kicked her sneakers off and helped Sirius with her jeans before leaning back again. She hooked her fingers in her high-waisted knickers and moved to pulled them off. Sirius' hands shot out and quickly grabbed her wrists.

He tsked teasingly as he sent her a sly smile. "Now, now, now, we've got to get at least a little look at these."

Hermione threw her head back and groaned, "Sirius…"

He laughed under his breath. Her hands were pushed aside and Sirius slowly pushed her plain white tee further up. He snickered.

She smacked his shoulder. "Sirius."

"It's got pink frills," he choked out. He fingered the little bow at the top of the hem.

"Stop," she moaned in torture. "Just take them off." But Sirius had gone back to his hot, open mouthed kisses across her stomach and Hermione's fingers curled in his hair. He moved lower and Hermione gasped.

Sirius licked and played with her through the thin cotton barrier. She cried out. The magical bond between the two of them sparked and flared with the rise of Hermione's arousal. Sirius wrapped his arms around her legs and pressed her hips down when she jerked erratically.

Hermione gasped Sirius' name. Her body writhed on the bed.

The magic amplified every touch and sensation between the two. Sirius' fingers wandered up beneath her shirt and fondled her breast through her sports bra. "Yes," she moaned. Thrills shot through her entire body, down her spine, and straight to her core which Sirius played like it was made for him. Fuck, Hermione thought, maybe it was.

The young witch was pulsating — aching. Her fingers tightened their grip in Sirius' hair so tight it was nearly painful. Her hips jerked and she cried out. She moaned. She might have been saying something. Words were drawn from her against her will but she didn't know what they were. It might have been begging — it was probably begging.

Hermione's back arched off the bed as she nearly screamed her release. Her breath came to her fast. Her heart was racing. She barely noticed Sirius kissing her thighs as he — finally — pulled her completely soaked knickers down. He cast the panties aside and his hands splayed across her tanned thighs. Sirius leaned forward and trailed a long lick across her heated flesh. Hermione keened and squirmed.

He kissed her stomach and slowly worked his way back up her body. His fingers caught on her shirt and slowly slid it up her chest. Hermione's hands grasped his jaw and she pulled his lips back to her own. Sirius was pleasantly surprised, not many birds would be willing until after a thorough magical mouth cleanse. He didn't pull back and he didn't complain. Hermione's tongue flicked teasingly and Sirius renewed his efforts in getting her shirt off.

Finally free of the thin cotton shirt, Hermione fell back against the bedsheets once more. Her curls spread across the bedspread like a halo. Merlin, he loved her curls. They weren't unlike his own and he was a vain bastard, he knew.

Hermione's plump lips stole his attention once more. He moaned as her nails lightly scratched over his shoulders and down his chest. The witch was trying to kill him. Honestly, she was.

Nimble fingers went to work on his belt and trousers. She pushed his trousers down as far as she could whilst still pinned under him. Sirius pulled back and Hermione nearly gasped. The cold air on her body was nothing in comparison to the loss of the magical bond between them. It felt like she'd been thrown out into the cold.

Despite the loss of the effects of the magical bond, the tension had not dissipated. Hermione was still wet, her heart racing, and her body eager for more. Sirius still had a considerable bulge in his trousers that Hermione was dying to unwrap like a present on Christmas Day.

The worked up witch quickly hooked her fingers under her sports bra and suddenly she was entirely naked. Hermione leaned back on her elbows. A sly smirk spread across her face as she watched Sirius stare.

She raised her eyebrows and nodded at his trousers. "You're a bit behind there, Padfoot."

Sirius' eyes darkened instantly. His entire body tensed like something inside him had snapped. Hermione's eyes widened. Perhaps she shouldn't have said that. She opened her mouth to apologize when Sirius pounced on top of her. A muttered spell under his breath and the rest of his clothes were gone.

Sirius' mouth pressed against her own. Hermione barely had a second to register the change in positions before he was thoroughly snogging her. She moaned and pressed her chest against his own. Something hard was pressed between them and with a tingle of excitement Hermione knew exactly what it was. Her brow furrowed for a moment as she registered just how long said _instrument_ seemed to be. She pulled back a fraction to look down the length of their bodies.

She gasped in horror. "Oh my god!" Her hands pushed against his shoulders in panic and Sirius immediately pulled back.

"Hermione, what's—?"

"It's massive!" she cried out, her eyes wide and still glued to the offending package — no, weapon.

Sirius tried desperately not to laugh. He knew it would only set her off into a fury. "Hey, hey…" he soothed to her. "It's okay. I'm a bit above average, I know, but—"

"A bit? Sirius, that thing is inhuman."

His smirk broke through with that comment. She glared and he quickly coughed to cover it up. "It's going to be fine, love. I know what I'm doing."

"Doing? You're not going to be doing anything," she stated with finality. She pointed at his cock. "That thing is not going anywhere near me. I'd like to remain with the ability to walk, thank you." Hermione's annoyance quickly turned to horror. "Oh Merlin, I'm never going to walk again." Her eyes teared and she knew she was being irrational but the boys she'd been with had never been so…advantaged.

Sirius' hands on her face were gentle. "Hey," he whispered as his nose grazed her cheek, "deep breaths, love." His finger gently stroked across her cheekbone. "Deep breath in, deep breath out. That's it." Hermione's wide whiskey coloured eyes met his own light grey ones. "It's always scary a witch's first time but—"

Hermione punched him in the chest.

Sirius fell to the side and rolled onto his back, the wind completely knocked out of him. He groaned as his hands clasped against where she'd punched him. She'd punched him!

"I'm not a virgin, you wanker!"

Sirius blinked, startled. He turned his head towards her and once he'd caught his breath again he questioned, "You aren't?"

Hermione growled and grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed. She then proceeded to beat him with it.

"Oi!" Sirius hollered. He scrambled up and grabbed the pillow from his irate witch. He tossed it aside before wrapping his arms around her and hauling her into his lap. Hermione continued to push and shove until Sirius grabbed the back of her head and pressed a hard kiss to her lips.

The magical bonding between them flared hot again and Hermione nearly melted against him. His tongue did horrible, wonderful things to her that she never wanted to end. His hand wandered to cup one of her breasts and her lower muscles clenched.

"You're playing dirty," she whispered.

Sirius' smirk reminded her that she had decided to bind herself eternally to a Marauder. Oh, what a world. His lips brushed hers as he whispered back, "What on earth made you think I wouldn't?"

"Sirius…" was her only response and he could hear the fear in her voice.

"I'm not going to hurt you, pet." Her brows furrowed as she bit her lip. "There are spells, you know? One's that'll make it hurt less and others that'll… make you less uncomfortable tomorrow."

"I'll still be able to walk?"

"Marauder's honour."

Hermione let out a long, shuddering breath. She looked down and rolled her eyes. "You're still hard?"

"You're stunning when you're angry." He winked. "And you're naked which definitely helps." Hermione snorted out a short laugh. "Feeling better?" She nodded. "Good." He pressed her down onto the bed and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Now, how about you just sit back," another kiss to her shoulder, "and enjoy this very Sirius experience." He captured one of her nipples between his lips before she could scold him for his wordplay.

Sirius continued to play and tease her body. He could tell, now that he knew, that she wasn't a virgin. It had been rather obvious the whole time, if he were being honest with himself. She was bold with her movements. Clearly, Hermione knew what she liked and wasn't afraid to push him in the right direction. He was more than comfortable with the revelation. If anything, it made things infinitely easier. He wasn't deflowering his godson's best friend, thank Merlin for that. He was just going to fuck her, infinitely better.

Sirius cast the necessary spells, ones he'd learned in his youth and quite honestly hadn't used in ages. He pulled back a fraction and stared down at Hermione's flushed form. Her curls were a perfectly tousled mess and her lips were plump and pink from his kisses. He hadn't been with a witch in a while.

This wasn't some cheap fuck. This young, radiant witch was his wife. She deserved more than that.

When he kissed her again, it was soft and slow. Hermione opened her eyes. She met his gaze and her breath stilled. They came together like the completion of a perfectly executed spell. Easy, flowing, fluid. Hermione's body arched into his, her head thrown back in ecstasy. Sirius growled into her neck and she gasped in response. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he pressed into her even closer.

"Sirius!" Her nails dug into his back. She couldn't catch her breath. The magic was swelling around them. She could feel it rising within her, around the both of them. Hermione thought the bed might have been floating, she wouldn't have been surprised if it was.

Something in the room shattered as she came. The magic snapped like an elastic band and Hermione found she could breathe again. Sirius groaned and rolled to his back. He felt like he'd run a fucking marathon. Christ. Hermione raised her arms above her head and stretched lethargically. Sirius couldn't help but let his eyes wander her soft form. Merlin, she was stunning.

She turned onto her side and propped her head up in her hand. "Now I know why witches and wizards bother with these bonds." Sirius snorted in amusement. "Really though, the lifetime commitment almost feels worth it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Almost?"

She raised an eyebrow back. "Well, I certainly hope that wasn't your whole repertoire. I'd be bitterly disappointed."

"Disappointed?" he choked out, both brows were now raised high on his forehead. Hermione was smirking and although he knew she was playing him, he wasn't entirely sure how to react. This was not a side to Hermione he knew. A naked and sexually flirtatious side. It was a good side.

She hummed in response, one of her fingers trailed down his tattooed chest. He fought not to shiver. Hermione looked up at him from beneath her lashes, a devious and exceedingly attractive smirk spread across her face. "I'm not normally a missionary position kind of girl."

"Oh?" His smirk returned to his handsome face. "And what sort of position is your thing?"

Hermione swung a leg over his hip and fluidly pulled herself up to straddle him. Her hands spread across his chest. "Take a wild guess."

"Doggy style?"

She leaned forward as she giggled and kissed him. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Unfortunately for you, that position does not provide nearly enough opportunity for bossiness in bed."

Sirius's smirk turned roguish in a way only he could achieve without looking like an arse. "'course it does. You'll just have to be the one following the rules and not making them." His hands grasped her thighs and he leaned his head closer to hers. "You like following the rules, don't you, kitten?"

Hermione, refusing to give up any advantage, leaned close enough that her chest teased his. Her hair curtained them as she whispered, "He said to the girl who kidnapped a reporter and held her captive for a year."

Sirius' eyes widened. He thought for a moment. "Skeeter?" Hermione's smile was answer enough. "Christ, you're gonna be the death of me, aren't you?"

Hermione brushed her lips against his. "Yeah, but what a way to go," she enticed. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and then quickly moved on before he could respond. Her kisses danced down his chest as she explored his tattoos. She ran her tongue along the stem of a beautiful rose tattoo. When Hermione finally pulled back, Sirius' eyes were nearly black. "I love tattoos," she revealed in a soft whisper. Her fingers traced the magical compass tattoo. The pointer spun before pointing directly at her. Along his right side, trees rose up that looked like the Forbidden Forest. She thought she might have seen a wolf, stag, and a dog darting through the trees but it was too quick to be sure.

"Do you really?" he questioned, pulling her out of her intense study. "Little Miss. Hermione Granger likes tattoos? I'm shocked and appalled." He sounded anything but.

"Oh shush," her fingers brushed his lips and he nipped at them, "you don't know everything about me."

His hands slid down her thighs before slowly travelling back up again. "Alright, go on then. Tell me something about yourself, Miss. Likes Tattoos."

She smirked. "I have a tattoo."

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the pretty witch. His hands stilled. "No, you don't." Her smirk turned into an amused smile. "I've seen every inch of your body, love. I'd know if you had a tattoo."

"Ma-gic," she singsonged.

Sirius growled and jerked her closer. "Show me."

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled back. She looked around the room. "Wand?" Sirius raised his hand and a wand flew into it. He handed it over. It was his. Hermione hesitated only a moment before taking it from his hand. It had a square handle with runes etched into the middle portion. Hermione itched to study them closer but decided to save that for another time. She gave it an experimental swish and flick and smiled smugly when the magic from the unknown core responded easily. She reversed the concealing charms on her body.

The first mark to reveal itself was the long pale scar left from the battle at the Department of Mysteries. It slowly drew itself down from her right collarbone, across her chest, and to her opposite hipbone. Sirius' eyes narrowed at the mark, remembering both of their very close brushes with death that night. His eyes then caught on the black ink that looked like it was seeping from the pores of her skin and out onto the tanned flesh of her left side. Along her ribcage in beautiful, flowing script were the words, "to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you into something else, is the greatest accomplishment."

Sirius smiled as he traced the three lined script with his thumb. It was perfect.

"Emerson," Hermione explained. "I'm rather fond of his essays."

"Of course you are." He raised an eyebrow. "Muggle tattoo?" She nodded. "Those hurt more," he pointed out.

"Believe me, I know."

His brow furrowed and he shook his head. Hermione Granger was not the witch he thought she was. He'd thought he'd had her all figured out. Silly, silly old bastard, wasn't he? "When did you get it?" It certainly wasn't knew.

"France. Summer before fifth." He raised his eyebrows at that. It was a bit young for tattoos, not that he was one to judge. "My parents let me wander on my own most days while they were in conferences," Hermione continued. She stared off, lost in her memories with a small smile on her face. "I met a boy. He had such beautiful tattoos." Her smile was soft. "He was beautiful."

"He was your first?"

She nodded. "Hurt like crazy. I cried. He was sweet though." Her smile turned into a smirk. "It got better after that."

Sirius raised an eyebrow and thought about her missionary position comment. "How much better?"

"He was older," she revealed with a nod of her head. "He knew what he was doing."

He narrowed his eyes. "How much older?"

Hermione smiled and kissed him sweetly. She kept kissing him and didn't answer his question. Sirius noticed but couldn't find it in himself to be upset when she was kissing him like that, straddling him and pushing her naked chest against his own. She could have told him she'd mangled his motorcycle and he was fairly certain he'd have been okay with it.

Hermione tiptoed down the stairs of Grimmauld Place in Sirius' old Zeppelin shirt. The house was dark and still in the dead of night. She couldn't even hear Kreacher and figured he was in another part of the house. A noise, however, had disturbed her from her sleep. No one had stopped by the house the last few days since she and Sirius' bonding. Well, not since Remus had flooed in on them having sex on the table. Hermione had never seen the werewolf blush so madly before. She was sure she hadn't been much better off. There are some things your third year professor shouldn't see you doing, and riding his best friend whilst wearing nothing but a skimpy negligee is one of them.

A cabinet was closed, the sound echoing down the hall from the kitchen. Glasses clinked. Someone was definitely in there and Hermione didn't think it was Kreacher. Hesitantly, she crept closer to the kitchen door.

Something shattered and Hermione jumped. She quickly entered the kitchen and paused at the sight before her. Severus Snape was in the kitchen. An empty bottle of Ogden's was rolling across the floor and several cupboards were open. He was opening another one when she stepped inside. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of her drunken professor. Her heart quickly began to race and she stepped back.

Alone, at night, with a drunken Severus Snape was not a position she'd ever wanted to be in. Said professor had finally found an old bottle of muggle rum at the back of the cabinet. He pulled it out triumphantly.

Hermione took another step back and bumped into the doorframe. She squeaked in surprise, quickly cut off by her hand on her mouth. Snape spun around and his beady eyes zeroed in on the young witch. Neither moved. The drunken wizard's eyes slowly trailed down her form and Hermione remembered she was only wearing Sirius' shirt. She became acutely aware of the fact that her hair was a mess, her lips bruised, and hickeys were dotted across her neck and legs.

Hermione's fingers twitched at her side. Why hadn't she brought her wand with her?

Snape's eyes narrowed. Both moved at once. Hermione flew out the door and down the hall. "Sir—" Her scream was cut off by Snape's silencio. He grabbed her arm and threw her back against the wall. Her scream of pain went unheard. Snape's hand closed around her throat and Hermione let loose a strangled gasp. His fingers tightened and her air supply was quickly cut off.

Snape leaned towards her. His oily hair fell forward. His breath was heavy.

Hermione couldn't breathe. She clawed at his hand clutching her throat. Her eyes teared.

Snape let go and Hermione gasped for air. He leaned in towards her and the smell of alcohol surrounded them. He was mumbling something, his body pressed close to hers. Hermione's tears rolled down her cheeks and her entire body shuddered as she tried to regain her breath. Snape's fingers curled around the curve of her waist and Hermione's chest squeezed.

"Please—" she mouthed. Let me go. His fingers tightened their grip and her silent plea cut off with a choked sob. His face nuzzled into her hair and neck and Hermione's skin crawled. He continued mumbling things under his breath but Hermione was too terrified to register what they were.

Her eyes flickered to the stairwell. She willed Sirius to come rushing down and save her. Snape's face moved closer and Hermione struggled against his chest. She shook her head as she silently cried out "no," to no avail. The young witch cried as his lips pressed harshly against hers. She tried to push him back or turn her head away. He held her in place, a low rumble vibrating his chest as he deepened the kiss. His fingers pressed against her jaw, forcing it open. Snape pressed his tongue into her mouth, a low moan immediately filling the hall.

Hermione's fingers curled into his black robes. She bit down on his tongue — hard. She tasted blood and heard Snape cry out. He slammed her back against the wall and it forced her to release her bite. Snape stumbled a few steps away. He glared furiously as he brought a hand to his mouth. Hermione used the moment to flee. She ran further down the hall. The heavy steps behind her alerted her to the fact that Snape had given chase.

His hand snatched her wrist and Hermione let loose a soundless scream as he spun her back around. She slammed into his chest and something shattered between them. Hermione felt glass embed itself into her palm.

"No!" Snape shouted. "What have you done you stupid little bitch?" Hermione pushed at him with her uninjured hand. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks. Their was stomping from upstairs — Sirius. "I was going to go back!" Snape screamed into her face, spittle flying. Hermione flinched away but he grabbed hold of her wrists. A gold, broken time turner dangled uselessly from his neck between them. "I was going to fix this," he hissed desperately. "It wasn't supposed to be this way." She shook her head. _Please, just let me go._

Snape was suddenly blasted away. He slammed against the wall and crumbled to the ground. "Get your bloody hands off my wife, Snape."

Sirius stepped into her line of sight and her entire body began to shake with adrenaline. "Hermione? Hermione, are you okay?" He stepped closer and she tensed. His touch was gentle as his thumb touched her chin. She closed her eyes as warmth spread through her. The bond filled her veins and calmed her soul. "Fuck, you're bleeding." Sirius stepped away and the room began to spin. "The fuck did you do to her, you bastard?"

Hermione held her bleeding hand to her chest. Her shaking wouldn't stop. Something glittered in the bright blood that dripped down her hand. The room continued to spin. Hermione's head swam. Sirius' growling voice grew distant until quite suddenly, everything had simply disappeared.

* * *

I was supposed to post this with the first chapter, I'm so sorry. But, better late than never! I'm super happy you're all liking it so far. This has mostly been thirty pages of set up, so buckle up for when the real drama starts next chapter.

Thoughts? xx


	3. Chapter Three

_Chapter Three_

_\- December 1982 -_

Auror Alastor Moody raced up the steps of 12 Grimmauld Place. He and his partner, rookie Kingsley Shaklebolt, had been called in response to a distress call. Apparently dark wizards were attacking Walburga Black. Moody almost wanted to pretend they didn't get the call. Batty old bitch deserved whatever she got. Then again, if Walburga Black was calling for help, it probably meant business.

Moody slammed the side of his fist against the door. The door was slowly opened by a stooped, hook nosed elf. Before either could say anything, a shrill screaming could be heard from within. Moody shot his partner a look and both drew their wands before entering the townhouse.

They found the old hag screeching in the parlour room. A small, terrified and half naked young girl seemed to be her target. Moody and Kingsley both came up short at the scene before them.

Kingsley raised his eyebrows. The girl must have just barely been of age. She was clad in only a faded Led Zeppelin shirt, her hair a mess and hickeys dotting her neck. She looked well and truly shagged.

Moody, by contrast, immediately narrowed his eyes at the blood on her lip. She held her left hand awkwardly and there looked to be a jagged piece of glass embedded into the flesh. There were bruises along her wrists and neck that stood out in a violent contrast to the bruises of the love bites.

The young witch's eyes locked on the aurors and her mouth dropped open. "_Moody_?" her mouth wordlessly mouthed.

The old auror glared at her before turning said glare to Mrs. Black. "Black!" he snapped harshly. The old hag finally ceased her screeching and turned venomous eyes on the aurors.

"Well, it took you long enough! She could have killed me twice over by now!"

Moody bit back the comment that desperately wanted to come out at that. He huffed and nodded to the girl, his eyes on the lady of the house. "Explain."

"She just showed up!" Walburga shrieked. She gestured wildly to the bleeding witch. "The little whore was crying and bleeding all over my Persian rug!" The unknown witch glared at the old woman.

Moody nodded at Kingsley and the younger auror moved towards the bleeding witch. She flinched back from him and he stilled immediately. "I'm not gonna hurt you love, just want to take a look at that cut." She eyed him warily but offered up her hand for inspection. She still flinched when he touched her and her hands shook.

Meanwhile, Walburga continued screeching about apparating witches and Persian rugs. "Some sort of foul prank and I won't stand for it!" she cried out, her limp black hair shaking about her lined and ugly face.

"She can't have apparated in," Moody argued with barely concealed annoyance. "The Black wards are impenetrable." Even as he stated it, he was unsure. Where the hell had the witch come from? He turned to his partner who had finished cleaning the terrified witch up. Kingsley made eye contact with his mentor and shook his head. He had no ideas. Moody shifted his piercing gaze to the witch that had somehow recognized him. "So, who are you, witch?"

She opened her mouth but no words came out. She touched her throat with her now healed hand. Moody raised his wand and flicked it sharply. The girl cleared her throat. "Hermione. My name is Hermione I'm — I'm not exactly sure I know what's going on."

Walburga glared at the curly haired witch. "She isn't a Black! There aren't any Hermione's in my family. I would know!"

Moody raised an eyebrow. "Can you prove it?"

Walburga glared viciously. She huffed before storming out of the room. Her heels echoed up the stairs. Moody rolled his eyes at the woman's dramatics. He nodded his head in the direction the hag had left in. "Come on, then."

Kingsley left first and only after a long, suspicious look at Moody did Hermione follow. Moody's heavy footsteps followed the skittish witch up the steps. She'd clearly been in some sort of altercation. The bruises on her wrists and neck were proof enough.

A scream stopped them on the stairs. All three froze and turned in the direction the shrill cry had come from. The library. They raced the rest of the way up the stairs and the two aurors burst through the door, wands raised. Walburga stood before the Black family tapestry, hyperventilating. Moody stormed forwards and searched the tapestry that had Mrs. Black in such a state.

There, beside the scorched off face of one Sirius Black, was the face of Hermione Granger — born 1979. Moody's blood ran cold. It was her. Definitely her. The picture was undeniable.

Moody turned and flicked his wand at the hysterical hag. "Obliviate." The old witch blinked slowly and her cries fell silent. She looked around in confusion before leaving the room without a word. Moody turned back to the tapestry and flicked his wand once more. "Come on," he growled to his partner and the girl.

"Where are we going?" Hermione questioned, her voice small.

"To see Dumbledore," he growled back as he stormed past her.

Hermione paused before she followed. She glanced over her shoulder at the tapestry and watched as the date beneath her name slowly changed from 1979 to 1965.

\/

"Professor, please."

"I'm afraid my hands are tied, Mrs. Black," the Headmaster explained, not sounding very sorry at all.

"There must be something that can be done. I can't be stuck here!"

Dumbledore sniffed and shuffled the papers on his desk. "That is more a question for the Unspeakables than myself." Hermione's brows drew together as she glared at the unhelpful Headmaster. "As I have said, Mrs. Black, there is nothing I can do and…" He fixed her with a cold look. "And to speak frankly, I wouldn't do anything even if I could."

Hermione bristled. "I beg your pardon?"

Dumbledore did not seem concerned by her anger. He set aside his papers and popped a candy in his mouth. "You are the future wife of one Sirius Black, a traitor not only to his family but the Order as well. How Sirius will ever find a way out of Azkaban, I do not know. Nor do I care to know. I do not help Death Eaters."

"Unless it's Severus Snape," she snapped.

Dumbledore's eyes turned hard as ice. "You will do well to remember your manners, Mrs. Black. I contacted the Unspeakables and they are here to take care of this…unfortunate circumstance. Anyone else would have simply turned you away." He said it graciously, as if he had done the most magnanimous thing since Jesus parted the Red Sea. Hermione wanted to leap across the table and throttle the old bastard. How dare he?

Hermione swallowed her rage. Between clenched teeth she claimed, "Sirius is innocent."

The headmaster's eyes were sharp as he studied her. "Whatever lies you must tell yourself to cope with the decision you have made, are your own." Hermione narrowed her eyes as she tried to catch onto the doublespeak she felt was taking place. "Sirius Black is guilty and there is no proof to say otherwise."

Her chest constricted. He knew. Dumbledore _knew_.

Hermione stood and turned to the Unspeakables waiting by the door to the headmaster's office. She headed towards them without so much as another word to Albus Dumbledore. Sirius was innocent. _He knew_.

"Mrs. Black," he called just before they left, "I do wish to say—" Whatever he wished to say was cut off as Hermione slammed the door shut behind her. She didn't give a shit what he had to say. She was furious.

The Unspeakables said nothing as they all left Hogwarts. Someone grabbed her arm and she flinched violently before they disapparated.

\/

She couldn't go home. The Unspeakables had confirmed it. But they couldn't just get rid of her either. Hermione didn't know whether to be irritated or amused that pureblood culture of all things was what was saving her arse.

"Normal procedure for beings cast back in time is to obliviate them and snap their wands," the Unspeakable sitting across from her in a white tiled room called Interrogation had explained. It was bright and sparsely furnished with only a metal table a chair on either side. It was also freezing. "You, however, are married to the Head of Black House and as such, you are entitled to the protection afforded someone of your position."

"Meaning?" She scratched her arm.

He produced two long scrolls. "You are being given control of Black vaults, all properties, and essentially anything else that was taken when Mr. Black was imprisoned in Azkaban." Hermione's eyes widened. "This included." Sirius' wand was set before her on the table. Hermione didn't hesitate in picking up the square handled wand. She wondered how Sirius managed to get it back in her timeline, she guessed it didn't really matter now. Her hand ran through her hair as she scratched her scalp.

The warmth that spread up her arm when she grasped the wand reminded her of the magic from her marriage bond. The Unspeakable was watching her intently. Hermione swallowed and touched the wand to the parchment. There was a bright blue glow before the paper shimmered and disappeared to Gringotts.

The other parchment was moved closer.

"This is an agreement. The Ministry will provide a birth certificate and proper papers for identification. In return, you sign that you will not tell anyone you are from the future."

Hermione leaned forward and read over the fine print. It was… terribly written. There were more loopholes than there were actual stipulations. She held her tongue. Hermione carefully read over each of the very brief and loose 'rules.' She couldn't tell anyone she was from the future, but she could talk about it if they already knew. She couldn't reveal political and magical advancements but it did not define exactly what they meant by that. If Hermione thought that meant only who the next Minister would be and not the outcome of another war, than so be it. She was horrified. No wonder purebloods ruled the world still — literally nothing could stop them.

She looked up from the parchment. "And my husband?" Her thigh itched and her leg bounced in contained agitation.

The Unspeakable narrowed his eyes. "He's in Azkaban."

"I meant, can I tell him? He knows he isn't currently married. I'm going to have to explain."

The Unspeakable shook his head. "I can't change the contract, but precedent has been set. We have a formal explanation on hand that you can deliver to him."

"What will it say?" Her leg continued to bounce beneath the table.

"You name, original birth of date, as well as where and when you first arrived in the past." Hermione tried not to tense. Sirius would be immediately suspicious when he saw she arrived at Grimmauld Place. "It will explain who you are and what time you come from. From there, you will be able to discuss anything with him."

Hermione nodded. She could handle Sirius' anger about Grimmauld Place. It would seem a very small thing in the grand scheme of things. "Okay."

He handed her a folded dark purple envelope. The colour of the Department of Mysteries official post. "This will only last for forty-eight hours. It will disintegrate immediately after." Hermione's eyes widened at that. "Someone is setting up a meeting for you and your husband now."

"Right now?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Can I at least have a pair of trousers first?" Her arms were itchy again. She felt overwhelmed. Agitated. Hot despite the chill of the room.

The Unspeakable smirked. Hermione scowled fiercely and he coughed into his hand. "There isn't time. You can transfigure a pair, but once you pass through the wards of the island they'll disappear. I'll have someone provide a cloak for travel."

She grit her teeth as she said, "Thank you." Finally, she was able to ask what she'd been thinking about the second the headmaster had rejected her so coldly. "What about Harry?"

The Unspeakable froze. "Excuse me?"

"He's Sirius' godson. Do I have custody of him?" She wanted to get him away from the Dursley's as soon as possible. Merlin only knew what they were doing to her best friend.

Carefully, the Unspeakable responded, "No one knows where The-Boy-Who-Lived is."

"And if I did?"

"Technically… he'd be yours."

Hermione tried not to smile. She pressed her wand to the parchment and it glowed briefly before disappearing.

The door opened and another cloaked Unspeakable entered. Hermione was led to the room they'd first apparated into. It wasn't the Ministry atrium but a private apparition approved room specifically for Unspeakable use. Once she was done here, she would be obliviated of it's appearance to ensure protection. Someone handed her a long black cloak and Hermione shrugged it on.

She managed not to flinch when the Unspeakable took her arm, but her entire body still tensed. The bruises from only a few hours ago were still fresh on her body. She yearned for a scalding hot shower to scrub away the dirt and disgust from her skin. Her cheeks flushed at the idea of a hot shower. Hermione shook her head of suddenly very dirty thoughts. What was wrong with her?

They apparated away and Hermione gasped the second the cold touched her. It was winter. Snow coated the ground and her feet burned hot against the ice. She swore under her breath. Someone quickly guided her inside as she cast warming spells on herself.

Azkaban was dark with stark, dirty walls. Guards were at a front desk, others chatting on what was presumably their break. They paused when the group arrived.

"Is it ready?" one Unspeakable asked.

"All set up," a guard returned. He stood from the desk and glared at Hermione. "Right this way, _Mrs. Black_." Hermione scowled at his tone and demeanour. He led Hermione and the Unspeakable that had interrogated her down a narrow hallway. They stopped before a door. "You have a little over an hour."

She blinked in surprise. "To deliver a letter?"

The guard looked over her head to the Unspeakable. Hermione turned to him as well. The man coughed into his hand. "Your bonds are out of sync. You have an hour to… correct it. You need to—"

"I get it," Hermione quickly cut him off and raised her hand. She blushed madly. The bond. Was that what had her so suddenly out of whack? She was still itchy all over and oddly aroused, especially considering the circumstances. The marital bond hadn't reacted like this before but it also hadn't been put in this very off-temporal situation.

"Wand," the guard instructed. Hermione pursed her lips before handing over Sirius' wand. "Cloak."

Hermione glared at him. "Really?"

"Protocol."

The young witch huffed and unclipped the cloak. She threw it at him. One of the guards down the hall whistled. Hermione ignored the men's jeers and entered the room angrily. She slammed the door shut behind her. The witch took a moment to breathe in the satisfaction that action brought her before she turned to the room at large.

It was just an empty white room, not unlike the interrogation room she'd been in earlier. To the left sat an observation window that she hoped no one was behind. There was probably a bloody Quidditch team of men though, if she were being honest with herself. And there, sat in the centre of the room on a hard metal chair with his hands and feet cuffed in steel chains, was her husband. Sirius Black.

He looked the only way Sirius Black could look whilst imprisoned and chained to a chair. Dead sexy. It was entirely unfair. His hair was pulled back into a bun, his jaw had dark stubble along it and despite the fact he wore a tattered prison uniform, it might as well have been Armani. He was skinny, but not emaciated like she remembered him first being. His cheekbones looked sharp enough to cut glass. There were dark circles under his eyes. He also seemed to be totally sane. His eyes were sharp and curious on her, his mouth held a delicious little smirk.

"Is that my shirt?"

Hermione swallowed. She stepped across the room quietly. The tile was freezing against her bare feet. The cold made her nipples hard, or so she told herself — it was most definitely not the sight of Sirius. When she was finally before her husband who was practically lounging in his seat, she handed him the letter. He eyed it suspiciously before he took it. The chains rattled as he flipped it open to read the contents.

His entire body tensed. He looked up at her again.

"I don't understand," was all he said. His voice was gruff.

"I'm your wife," she replied simply.

"No, I got that. I just — but — how…?"

Hermione shifted on her cold feet. "It's a long story." Her gaze flickered up to the dirty ceiling and then down to the dirty tiles. Anywhere but at him. His feet were also bare. He had his legs apart, his knees wide. She could just take a step forward and kneel and —

Hermione blinked and looked up. She let out a long breath as Sirius slowly sucked one in. His eyes were dark as they trailed up her body heatedly. His gaze met hers and Hermione's knees nearly buckled. "How old are you?" The letter said her date of birth but not the year she had disappeared from.

"17," she admitted quietly, "barely."

Sirius blinked rapidly. He looked away. She frowned at his expression and wondered what exactly — disgust. He was disgusted. Hermione crossed her arms, unable to stop the feeling of hurt that seared her heart. "I'm old enough to be your father." He paused. "Or… I would have been when you — and we?" He shook his head. "…why?"

"I told you, it's complicated." She glanced towards the observation window and Sirius followed her line of sight. "We don't have time for that." She turned back to him, her shoulders set. "There are more important things to discuss — and do."

"Look," Sirius tried to reason, "you're a very pretty witch and I'm sure future me will be very pleased to have a little thing like you in his bed but I'm not him. And to be bloody honest, I don't feel like reconciling with whatever pureblood child bride my mother handpicked for me while I was in fuckin' prison." His sneer was all pureblood haughtiness.

Hermione bristled. "I am not a child bride." Her disgust was evident. Sirius raised an eyebrow. His lounge in the chair looked near kingly with that expression upon his face. Hermione really wanted to slap him. "I'm not!" She stepped forward, nose in the air and wild curls all about her face. Sirius couldn't help but think she looked radiant. "And I'll have you know," she hissed quietly enough that none of the guards watching would hear, "that I am a muggleborn."

Sirius jerked back. "Wait — what?"

She sighed heavily. "We don't have time for this!" Hermione looked around for a clock of some kind but of course there wasn't one. Not that it would help. She had no idea what time it was when she'd even entered the room.

Sirius opened his mouth, ready to argue that they would make bloody time for this when Hermione quickly straddled his lap. His words died in his throat. Heat coursed through his veins and for what felt like the first time in over a year, Sirius felt something good. He felt wonderful. His entire body thrummed. Soft hands touched his jaw and Sirius nearly whined like a little puppy.

Touch. Warmth.

Sirius had always been starved for affection, but this was something entirely different. He felt both so calm and yet energized like an electric current was running through his body. The heat of the witch in his lap had him dizzy with arousal. He could smell it on her too. Her scent filled the room.

She smelled like cherries and chocolate.

He hoped she tasted like them too.

Sirius' eyes opened slowly. His lashes brushed her cheek. "What're you doing?" he breathed. His eyes met her startlingly light ones. A bright, almost golden brown colour. The colour of whiskey. He wanted to drown in the drink of her.

"It's the bond," she breathed back. Her fingers traced along his jawline. His jaw clenched under her ministrations. "It's all… out of sorts."

Sirius slowly shook his head, his eyes heavy lidded. "That doesn't sound good." Hermione shook her head along with him. Their noses brushed. "We should fix that," he whispered against her lips. She nodded.

Sirius tilted his head up and captured her lips. Hermione's fingers wound up into his hair. Her fingers scraped along his head. She opened her mouth to him and Sirius took great advantage. Hermione gently rocked her hips against his and Sirius growled into her mouth. He moved to touch her but the sound and feel of the chains that bound him held him back. He could only get as far as grabbing her thighs.

"Fuck," he hissed. Oh, this was not good. He wanted to do things. He wanted to touch and be touched and fuck. He hadn't had a fuck in over a year. Hermione kissed his neck, completely unconcerned with Sirius' lack of freedom. He turned his head, his heavy pants near her ear. "All on you, babe."

Hermione pulled back a fraction. Her eyes flickered down to the restraints. She smirked. Her lips drew up the side of Sirius' neck, across his pulse, his jaw. She nibbled on his earlobe. Sirius bit his lip. "That's fine," she replied pleasantly. "Not the first time I've had you tied down." Her smirk against the skin of his jaw was positively delicious. "And I promise you it won't be the last," her teeth scraped at his stubbled jaw, "Padfoot." Fuckin' hell.

Sirius growled and jerked against the restraints. He turned his head and captured her lips in a fierce kiss. Hermione responded with just as much fire and heat. She tipped his head back and rose up on her knees, demanding and controlling. Sirius felt like he was on fire.

Hermione's fingers flicked open the buttons of his prison robes with ease. She trailed hot, open mouthed kisses across his tattoos. His robes were pushed back off his shoulders, his chest fully exposed. Her nails scraped across a nipple. Sirius shifted and pulled at the chains. He wanted so desperately to touch her.

Her small, perfect fingers had just began to pull at the strings of his trousers when she paused. She looked up and their gazes met. "I don't have my wand." The rest didn't need to be spoken.

Sirius swallowed and nodded. Hermione wordlessly shifted closer on his lap. His lips pressed against the skin of her neck as he whispered the contraception spell. He whispered the other needed spells, ones he knew all too well. He leaned back and kissed her jaw. "It's not as powerful when done wandlessly. Take it easy." Hermione nodded.

The curly haired witch reached beneath her and slowly freed him from his trousers. She moved so slowly. So enticingly slow that Sirius ached. Her soft, pretty gasps were like the sounds of angels. He'd never been with such a perfect witch before.

Hermione moved against him with a slow, steady rhythm. Her fingers curled into his shoulders. She bit her lip and Sirius growled before he leaned forward to do that for her. She cried out. The electricity of the bond between them was like fire and ice. Sirius felt connected to her more than he'd ever been to anyone in his entire life. This witch. His witch.

"Sirius," she pled.

He kissed her neck, unable to erg her along in any other way. "Yes, that's it." She clenched around him at the sound of his voice and Sirius swore. "Come on, baby. Come for me." She moved faster. Sirius jerked his hips up but didn't manage much of a thrust. He sucked at her neck.

Hermione threw her head back as she came. Her cry of pleasure fell around him like a siren's song. She looked like a vision. Sirius dropped his head to her chest as he followed her. His deep groan was loud against her soft whimpers. Hermione's movements slowed back down until she came to a stop. Her fingers were in his hair. His face pressed against what he knew for sure was his shirt on her chest.

Someone banged on the door. Hermione glanced over her shoulder at the solid metal door. Sirius scowled over her shoulder. The timing was too perfect. They'd definitely been watching. Fucking perverts.

Hermione moved so that Sirius slipped out of her. She fixed his trousers so he was decent again but didn't move from her position in his lap. There was another bang on the door that they ignored.

Hermione pressed her face close to Sirius' and he marvelled at the fact that the bond still seemed hot and wonderful beneath his skin. He could definitely get used to sex like that. Hermione's lips pressed against his ear and all thoughts of sex vanished when she whispered, "I know where Peter is."

Sirius froze. His fingers tightened on her thighs. "He's dead."

More banging on the door.

Hermione minutely shook her head. "I know you're innocent. I'm going to get you out."

His eyes widened. He pulled back but Hermione's lips stopped whatever he was going to say. She slid from his lap. The letter she'd given him was placed in his hand once more. Then she was gone as quickly as she'd come.

Sirius sat in his chair, eyes wide, feeling like the entire world had just tilted on its axis.

* * *

Smut. All the smut. This is probably one of my most favourite sex scenes I've ever written, tbh.

Anywaysssss... :) xx


	4. Chapter Four

_Chapter Four_

_\- December 1982 -_

It was Christmas Eve.

Hermione almost turned back around but knew she couldn't. She'd prepared for days and it was a coincidence that it happened like this. Happy coincidence. Her Harry would have been pleased. This final thought was what gave her the courage to take the last step and ring the doorbell of number four Privet Drive.

Hermione let out a long breath and it visibly caught in the air. It was snowing. A white Christmas, Hermione noted absently with a bit of wonder.

The door opened and a tall, dark haired woman with a horse face looked down her nose at Hermione. She sniffed at the young girl on her doorstep. "We've already donated this year. Kindly cross us off your list." There was nothing outwardly rude about what she had said, but nothing kind in it either. The woman, Petunia Dursley, danced a fine line between respectable and horrid.

Hermione's lips pursed. She pressed a hand against the door when the older woman tried to close it shut. "I'm not here for donations." Petunia opened her mouth. "Nor am I a caroller," Hermione added in her patent, annoyed and bossy tone.

Petunia immediately bristled. "Then who are you?"

Hermione held out a rolled scroll and the woman visibly recoiled. Petunia Dursely recognized wizarding correspondence when she saw it. "I'm here for Harry."

Petunia's eyes widened. Her hand shook as she took the scroll. She broke the seal and opened the letter. Forms. Official and legal forms naming _Hermione Black_ legal guardian of Harry James Potter. "Black?" Petunia's voice held heavy amounts of disgust.

"Sirius' wife."

Petunia scowled fiercely. There was no love lost between her and Sirius.

Hermione pushed past the tall woman. Petunia gasped in outrage. "You cannot just—" she broke off and both turned to look down the hall where voices and music could be heard. A party. Petunia continued at a low hiss, "you cannot just come in here. It's _Christmas_."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Where's Harry?" Petunia's eyes flickered to the cupboard under the stairs. Hermione burned with rage. "How could you?" she seethed. Her eyes narrowed and her tone turned mocking. "It's _Christmas_." Petunia looked down. She had no words to defend herself. Hermione shook her head in disgust.

The witch turned to the cupboard but Petunia's voice stopped her. "Wait, what about the wards?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at the muggle. "He - Dumbledore… He said that the wards would keep us safe. If you take him away…" Hermione studied the young mother. Perhaps she did care for Harry? "My family…" Petunia finally finished.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Well, let's hope no Death Eaters come to kill you in your sleep, shall we?" She stalked away as she said, "I'll put a good word in with my husband." Hermione did not see Petunia flinch. She still felt extremely satisfied for her dark comment.

Hermione flicked her wrist and Sirius' wand fell into her palm. She waved it and muttered a spell, setting up a muggle repelling charm. She didn't want Vernon of all people to come barging down the hall. The last thing she needed was that great big bull in the middle of it all.

She dropped to her knees before the cupboard and immediately had to quell the storm of rage she felt at seeing the lock on the outside of the cupboard. _How dare they?_ Hermione had known Harry's situation at home was bad. She knew more than most. But he had never said… Tears gathered in her eyes and she quickly shook her head. There would be time for tears later.

Hermione slid the lock across and slowly opened the small door. It was dark inside. A small bed was laid out on the floor, barely a cot. The space was cramped, dark, and dusty. A small body was curled up under a thin blanket.

Hermione spotted the cord for the light and pulled it. It clicked and the room still managed to feel dark if not even more cramped. She crawled nearly fully into the cupboard and bent over the small toddler on the cot. Harry.

Her fingers brushed his cheek. "Harry?" she whispered softly. "Harry, wake up." She didn't want to just whisk him away. She was sure little Harry wouldn't have minded waking up far away from the Dursleys, but it felt wrong. Hermione knew how much Harry had dreamt of someone showing up and taking him away. She wanted to give him that moment, however fleeting the memory would be once he was too old to remember. "Harry?"

The little boy stirred in his sleep. His eyes blinked open and he rubbed them as he yawned. He froze when he registered someone touching his face. Harry's bright emerald eyes blinked open widely as he turned to face the person in his room. The light was on and a head blocked out most of the light. Curls were lit up like a halo around the woman's head, her face in shadow. An angel?

"Harry?" her voice was soft and light. Her fingers tenderly touched his cheek. Harry's breath hitched. No one had ever touched him so gently before. His heart hurt in his chest. He didn't know why, but tears began to fall down his cheeks. "Oh no, please don't cry." Her hands tucked under his arms and she pulled him out of the cupboard and straight into her lap. Harry's eyes squeezed shut at the bright light. "Shh…" The woman held him and gently stroked his back. "It's okay, love. I've got you." Harry continued to cry, but he didn't make a sound. His face pressed into her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around him. She felt warm. She smelled like sweets. "My name is Hermione. And I am your very best friend."

Harry's eyes blinked open and he stared up at her in wonder.

Hermione pulled back and looked down at Harry with a warm smile. She was beautiful. "It's going to be okay now. I'm going to take you away from here." Harry didn't respond. His eyes were wide as he continued to stare. "Would you like that?" Her hand stroked across his face again and Harry couldn't help but nod quickly. She smiled and Harry knew everything really was going to be okay. "Good."

Hermione pulled Harry up onto her hip and stood. She held Harry's little body against her own protectively. She gave Petunia a glare so fierce, the older woman physically flinched. "I hope you're happy with yourself, Petunia," Hermione whispered coldly, "because your sister would be absolutely ashamed of you." She flicked her wrist and cancelled the ward she'd put up. Without another word, Hermione left.

The young witch trudged out into the cold winter night, now a young mother. She cast a warming charm on Harry before she held him close. "I need you to close your eyes and take a deep breath, Harry." She'd gotten her apparition licence. It had been one of the first things she'd done after leaving Azkaban — that and finding a pair of trousers.

When Hermione was sure Harry had followed her instruction, she turned on the spot. They landed with a loud _pop_ outside an apartment door. Harry's face screwed up and he looked nearly sick. "Shhh…" Hermione soothed. She held his cheek and kissed the other one. "I know, it's not fun, but now we're out of the cold. I won't do it again, I promise."

Harry blinked and looked around. His eyes widened. He turned to Hermione, stunned. Hermione smiled at his expression. Her heart ached with the loss of her best friend but she buried her pain and continued to smile for the small toddler in her arms. He was too small, she noted. Clearly malnourished and probably terribly starved for physical affection, at least if the way he was clutching at her was any indication. Her poor Harry.

"How?" he asked quietly, the first word out of his mouth so far.

Hermione's smile turned devious as she leaned close, their noses touching. "Magic."

Harry gasped. Not a gasp of awe — fear. He shook his head. "Bad word."

Hermione pursed her lips to hide her fury. "No, it's not. It's a wonderful word. Let me show you." She waved her wand and the door to apartment 43 opened wide. Hermione stepped through and with a softly whispered spell, lights slowly blinked on.

Reds, greens, blues, and purples all danced merrily up and down the walls. White lights beamed from within magical icicles out on the balcony. Christmas garland touched the counter and was swept over the fireplace mantle. A massive Christmas tree sat in the corner by the fireplace, which was lit and roared welcomingly. The tree had a bright, pulsating magical light at the top like a star. The decorations were alive, moving and dancing across the branches.

It was magical.

Hermione watched Harry's expression carefully. His jaw had dropped. His eyes were wide. He clung very tightly to her cloak. "Do you like it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Harry nodded, unable to speak.

"Do you still think 'magic' is a bad word?"

Harry shook his head.

Hermione smiled and kissed his cheek. "Good." She set Harry on his feet before closing the door behind her. "Welcome to your new home, Harry." He turned and looked up at her. "Happy Christmas."

Harry tentatively smiled. "Happy Christmas."

Hermione took off her cloak and set it on one of the pegs in the wall. "Are you hungry? Did you have dinner yet?" It was very late, but Hermione suspected the Dursley's had neglected that. Harry shook his head. She didn't know to which question he was saying no, but decided it didn't matter. She knelt down so they were at eye level. "What's your favourite thing to eat, love?"

Harry shrugged. Hermione raised an eyebrow. She waited patiently. "Spaghetti," he finally responded quietly.

Hermione smiled brightly and nodded once. "I thought so." She led him to the dinner table which was set with two bowls full of spaghetti and meatballs. She helped him into his chair, a booster seat ready and waiting for him. Hermione sat down beside him and used her knife and fork to cut his meal into smaller length noodles.

Harry did not pick up his plastic baby fork. He eyed the food suspiciously before he turned to the witch. "You knew," he accused.

Hermione fought in vain not to smile. He was utterly adorable. "Do you know how?"

He studied her a moment longer. "Magic," he whispered. She nodded once and turned to her dinner. Harry still hadn't moved. He looked around the merrily decorated apartment. The dinner smelled warm and delicious. He turned back to Hermione. "Thank you."

Hermione paused. She looked at him, her face soft and warm. Her fingers brushed through his hair and the action made Harry tense. He watched her intently as she slowly leaned forward and kissed the top of his head. "It was my pleasure," she responded.

Hermione turned back to her dinner. After a moment, Harry turned to his own dinner and finally began to eat as well. He barely made a dent in the plate before he claimed to be full. Hermione tried and failed to encourage him to eat more. Eventually, she settled on placing the leftovers in the fridge and having him finish it if he got hungry later. If Harry was as underfed as he appeared, he wouldn't have a very large appetite to begin with, but Hermione resolved to work on that immediately.

Harry helped her gather the dishes, which she set to magically wash in the sink. His eyes widened and he froze as he watched the dishes move by themselves. He stood there for a long time, mouth open and eyes wide. He didn't even notice that Hermione had left the room. It was incredible.

"Harry?"

The toddler jumped and spun around. He tried not to tense, hoping he hadn't done something wrong. Hermione smiled at him and he resisted the erg to fidget. "I ran a bath for you. Come on." He took her hand and slowly followed her through the bedroom and into the ensuite.

There were bubbles in the bath a few toys lined up along the edge. Harry immediately went to it, excited. He'd never had a proper bubble bath before. He nearly felt giddy.

Hermione turned the distracted toddler and began to help him out of his clothes. She had to admit it was weird undressing her best friend. She had to mentally shake herself a few times and remember that this was a toddler. This was technically her son now — not just her best friend. She loved Harry enough to dissociate her memories of his future self and this one. Harry loved her enough that she knew he'd have done the same for her.

Hermione's breath caught when his clothes finally came off. Harry had horrible, dark bruises on his upper arms and chest. Hermione's fingers reached out, just shy of touching them. Her face screwed up in anger and Harry immediately began to cry.

"I'm sorry," he cried.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh, no! Harry, it's okay." She cupped his face and kissed his cheeks. "I'm not mad at you. I promise. Please don't cry." She didn't know if she was begging him not to cry, or herself. "Shh… it's okay." Hermione wiped his tears away. "Does it hurt?"

He stared at her with wide, tear-filled eyes and didn't respond.

"The — the bruises, Harry," she clarified as her finger gently brushed one. "Do they hurt?" He quickly shook his head. She didn't believe him. Hermione stood and turned to the medicine cabinet. She picked up a jar of bruise paste she'd made. It was on hand for when Sirius returned from Azkaban, she had not thought she'd need it for _Harry_.

The young witch allowed herself one moment of fury and sadness as she was turned away from Harry. Those horrible, _horrible_ people. Her Harry had clearly held back on their treatment of him. Or perhaps this had not continued? No, Hermione thought with a shake of her head. If someone was willing to hurt a _baby_ they would have absolutely no compunction about doing the same to a young man.

Hermione took a deep breath and plastered on a soft smile. She turned to Harry and sat down on the tile floor. Hermione slowly applied the paste to each of Harry's bruises, new and old. She and he both watched as the colours faded back to a natural skin tone. It was almost cathartic.

"Okay? All better now?"

Harry gave her a tentative smile as he nodded.

"Does anything else hurt?" She gave him a small inspection. "Toes? Fingers?" Her hands pressed against his ribcage gently. "That okay?" He nodded. "Does it hurt to breath? When you move a certain way?" He shook his head. Hermione cupped his face and gave him a gentle, serious look. "If you ever get hurt, Harry, you must tell me. Right away. I'll make the pain go away, okay, darling?"

"Okay."

She smiled. "Good, now come on. You've got a bubble bath waiting."

Harry smiled excitedly.

Later, Harry sat in the middle of a big bed with a black comforter. He looked tiny amongst the heavy blankets and big pillows. He watched Hermione move about the bedroom, the only one Sirius' flat provided, and hoped she wouldn't be leaving him alone. He didn't want to go to sleep in this bed. It was massive. Far too big. He was used to much smaller spaces. Despite how comfy the bed was, he didn't think he'd be able to fall asleep with so much space around him.

Hermione seemed to sense his distress. She crawled into bed beside him and pulled him into her arms. He tensed and laid down with her. The lights flickered off. Hermione hugged him from behind, her body warming and comforting him all at once. Harry remained very still and very tense. He didn't want to disturb her.

She pressed a kiss to his head. "Sweet dreams, Harry."

Like a spell, Harry's body slowly began to relax. Hermione's sweet scent enveloped him and lulled him off to sleep. He dreamt of dancing lights and singing Christmas trees and Hermione smiling at him telling him 'everything is going to be okay.'

Hermione did not fall asleep as quickly as her companion. She stayed up, laying very still as Harry slept. Eventually, the tears broke free. She cried. She cried for her family. For her parents that she'd never see again, the Weasley's, and most importantly Harry. She cried for her Harry she'd left behind and all their adventures that only lived on through her memories. She cried for the little Harry in her arms, entrusted to the only family he had left and abused for it.

Her poor, darling Harry.

* * *

Happy Canada Weekend! Tomorrow I'll be posting for As It Should Be and on Monday I'll be posting a new story!

So let me know what you'd like, I've got a Thormione, a Sirmione, and a Harmony.

The Thormione will be more sporadic updates, mostly because I'm not as far along in it. It takes place post-Hogwarts but the war has dragged on for a few more years and is still ongoing.

The Sirmione is a non-time travel "Hermione born in the 70's" trope. It's actually inspired off of this story. There's an explanation Hermione will give later that super inspired me as a "what if" scenario and I ran with it.

The Harmony has super!Harry, not-a-muggleborn-Hermione, and lots of Marauder love. Featuring alternate realities and an epic "save the world" storyline!

Let me know what you'd like to see!

xx


	5. Chapter Five

_Chapter Five_

_\- January 1983 -_

The days with Harry passed quickly. He adjusted to Hermione's presence with ease. The soft touches and warm affection that she doted on him slowly stopped making him tense and instead smile. They would sit and read together, or draw, or cook. Hermione had him helping her all about the apartment.

Harry liked to help Hermione. She gave him soft hugs and sweet kisses in return and they made him feel warm inside. She always had a smile for him or a fun little spell to show. He loved watching her do magic. She had explained how she was a witch, apparently his mother had been one as well.

Hermione claimed that she was married to his father's best friend. Harry thought maybe that made them friends too. Hermione had said she was his best friend. She was his first friend and he loved her very much. He never wanted her to go away and he did his very best to be good, so she'd never send him back to the Dursleys.

Harry still cried a lot, Hermione noted. If he thought he'd done something she might dislike, it would instantly set him off. She had been quick to learn not to show her annoyance or displeasure around him, even if it wasn't directed at him. He was very sensitive to her moods and expressions. It made her angry to know that the Dursleys had been so unkind to him that even a frown meant he thought he'd be punished.

Hermione worked on encouraging him to talk more and smile. She sat and read with him for hours. He liked the stories she read but preferred to look at the pictures of flying in the Quidditch books. Hermione tried not to be too annoyed about it.

By the fifth day, she had sufficiently worn him down enough that he sought her out for a hug instead of waiting for one. Hermione had beamed at him and he'd quickly done it again. The two were joined at the hip. Completely inseparable. Everything was coming along perfectly.

It was on the sixth day that she received an owl from the Ministry. Sirius' trial date had been set. Her insistence had pushed the date up from a month from now to three days after New Years. It was hardly enough time to prepare any sort of defence at all. Luckily, they didn't have to.

On the day of the trial, Hermione dressed Harry up in wizarding robes. He spun around and giggled as the fabrics swished around his feet. Hermione smiled fondly at him. He looked up at her and smiled. "Pretty."

"Thank you, darling." She'd dressed up in her finest wizarding robes. The press would be there and probably everyone else in the wizarding world. She didn't care much what they thought of her, but it would cause less of a stir if she showed up looking like a pureblood rather than a muggle in jeans and a jumper. Her hair was partially pulled back and the curls styled to coil perfectly. Not a frizz in sight — however long that would last. "Time to go."

"Where?"

Hermione took his hand and led him to the door. "There's a very important trial happening today. About Sirius…my husband." It still sounded strange to her ears. "He's going to come home today."

"With us?" Harry pouted.

Hermione smiled and lifted him up into her arms. "You'll like him. He's a brilliant wizard. He can turn into a dog." Harry made a face. He was unconvinced. Hermione laughed and kissed his cheek. "Hold your breath and close your eyes, Harry."

They apparated away a moment later.

The Ministry was packed. Hermione held Harry tightly as she pushed her way through the throngs of people. Her eyes lit up when she saw the tall, dark auror waiting for her.

"Kingsley," she greeted with a smile and a nod.

The auror nodded back. His eyes fell on Harry. "And this must be Harry Potter. It's an honour," he told the little boy. Hermione pursed her lips at the wizard. Harry, for his part, hid his face in the crook of Hermione's neck.

"We ought to be going."

"Right this way." He led her down the hall, away from the press and public. She was a witness and would be asked to sit aside with the others until called upon. "Technically, Harry can't be with you."

"I hardly think anyone will argue."

"Not once they recognize him, no."

They paused outside the doors to the courtroom. Hermione turned and gave Kingsley a significant look. "Did you get him?" Kingsley's smile was vicious. Hermione nodded and sighed with relief. "Good. Alright," she glanced down at Harry and kissed his head, "all ready?" He tightened his arms around her neck and pretended they were still in the apartment. Hermione figured it was the best she would get. This was all a bit much for him and they hadn't even entered the courtroom yet. "See you in there," she said to Kingsley before entering the room.

Eyes swung around when she entered and away again. No one knew her, not yet at least. She let out a steadying breath before she made her way to the witnesses seating area.

The courtroom was a round amphitheatre styled room with rows going back for the Wizengamot to view the whole room. The main stage of the trial area sat at the centre of the room, behind it and leading towards the front of the room were rows of seats for witnesses and audience. It was not unlike a muggle courtroom. The only difference was that instead of a single judge raised above the court, the entire Wizengamot loomed over the proceedings. Hermione couldn't help but note the relatively even number of men and women amongst the near fifty members of the Wizengamot. Though they had yet to arrive, their names were placed in gold plating before their assigned seats.

Hermione walked down the aisle to the front row of seats that had been set aside for witnesses. There were a few wizards there she didn't know as well as, unfortunately, Walburga Black. The elder Black did not take notice of her and Hermione wondered how much of her memory of Hermione's arrival had been erased.

Harry peeked out and looked around the room. The rows were steadily filling up behind them. Everyone and their aunt wanted to see the trial of Sirius Black. Hermione caught his attention with a kiss to his head. "I brought a book, do you want to read with me?" Harry nodded quickly. There were too many people in the room and he was growing more uncomfortable by the moment.

Hermione slipped the Quidditch book from her bag and Harry settled more comfortably in the centre of her lap as he looked through the pages. They whiled away the minutes with Hermione reading the small blurbs of information for him. She moved to put the book away when the Wizengamot filed in.

"No," Harry whined as she closed the book.

"It's starting soon," she whispered to him. Harry pouted. She sighed and opened the book again. It would keep him distracted, at least. The pages of the book flipped quietly as the loud murmurs of the large audience grew quieter.

Albus Dumbledore sat regally in the seat of the Chief Warlock. He cleared his throat and the entire room instantly quieted. "We are assembled here on the second day of 1983 to undertake the trial and possible execution of one Sirius Orion Black, via the dementor's Kiss." Hermione breath caught in her throat. Execution? Her head spun around to Kingsley. He didn't look her way. Merlin's beard, she had not been expecting execution to be on the table. She shook her head at her own stupidity. Of course it would be, it had been in her third year as well and that had been over a decade after Lily and James' deaths. It had only been a year. The wound was still very fresh and people were out for blood.

"Bring out the accused," Dumbledore commanded in his soft but authoritative voice.

Side doors swung open and Sirius Black was led into the courtroom. People gasped. Most grumbled or whispered hexes under their breath. He'd clearly been allowed to dress up for the occasion and she briefly wondered who had gotten him such expensive robes. Sirius caught Hermione's eye and gave her a wink before swaggering towards his seat and sitting down. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world. The image was ruined by the sight and sound of the metal chains around his hands and feet. Still, he seemed so at ease, one could easily miss them.

Hermione envied his nonchalance. She felt so wound up she might explode. Death was on the table. She had no idea what she would do if Sirius — no, it wasn't going to happen. He would win his case.

Harry looked up at the raised voices and excitement but couldn't see much past the wooden fence that separated them from the main floor. He looked down at his book again.

The persecuting juror, a Mr. Wilson Roden, rose and the proceedings began. The speeches were long and arduous. Most of it was simply pandering, lies, and a heavy amount of character slander towards Sirius. The crowd ate it up with relish. Everyone wanted to see Sirius get the Kiss.

Harry fell asleep before they even got to the first witness. Hermione cradled the toddler against her chest, hiding his face against her neck. The less people that noticed the sleeping boy as The-Boy-Who-Lived the better.

The first witnesses brought forth were from the night of the attack. Most there had been muggles that died in the explosion of magic, but a few had been wizards. They cried and pointed at Sirius, claiming him a madman and a murderer. Sirius stared straight ahead and pretended they didn't exist.

The first person the defence brought forth was a character witness and surprisingly, it was Walburga Black. She rose, her nose so high she looked like she'd hurt her neck. The old witch was brought to the main floor where she sneered at her son before taking her seat before the Wizengamot.

"Please state your name and your connection to the accused for the Wizengamot," the defending juror, a young man named Gregory Knot, asked politely.

"Walburga Black. I am… _his_… mother." There were several grumbles from the assembled audience that Dumbledore quickly quieted with a raise of his hand.

"It would be fair, then, Mrs. Black," Knot continued, "to claim that you know the accused very well."

"I raised him."

"Simply a yes or no will do, Mrs. Black."

"_Yes_," she hissed with narrowed eyes.

"What was Sirius' character like, growing up?"

Mrs. Black rolled her eyes. "He was a terror. I knew right from the start he was going to be a terrible disappointment."

The prosecuting juror smirked from behind his table. Knot cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. He recovered quickly. "How was it, that your son disappointed you, Mrs. Black?"

"He wouldn't listen. He never did as he was told. Constantly playing pranks, making noise."

Knot raised his eyebrows. "That sounds more like a little boy playing, to me."

Mrs. Black crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. "Perhaps for _your_ kind. A Black is to be respectable and proper at all times." She levelled a fierce glare at her son. "A Black does not go off playing with _muggles_."

Knot hid his smile. "Muggles? Sirius Black, the accused, often played with muggles as a child?" Mrs. Black looked terribly upset about it, but confirmed nonetheless. "He was friends with them? He had amicable relationships with non-magical children?"

"Yes, it was abhorrent. I had Orion do something about it as soon as I found out."

"Were you surprised, Mrs. Black, when your son was sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Horrified would be a better word for it," she replied imperiously.

Knot smiled kindly. "I can imagine. The Black family has never had a child outside of Slytherin house, yes?"

"Yes."

"Did this cause tension in the household?"

Mrs. Black cocked her head to the side, her grey eyes studied the defending juror coldly. "Yes… but Sirius was properly punished for his betrayal to the family name."

"Punished? Was he also punished for playing with muggles?"

"Of course," the woman scoffed, as if it were obvious.

"And did you think, Mrs. Black, that the frequent punishing you put upon your son would endear him to be more like the proper Black heir you wished him to be?"

Mrs. Black's lip curled. She glared at the juror. Knot waited patiently for her to respond. Finally, Mrs. Black admitted, "No."

"But the punishments continued?"

The witch raised her head in a manner that stated she thought herself far above everything in the court. "Children eventually learn their lesson. The punishments may not have made him see right but they showed him what he needed to know about our world. Muggles are beneath us." There were a fair amount of annoyed grumblings at her words. "A lesson my son eventually learned. He turned in those filthy blood-traitors like he should have ages before."

Outrage in the courtroom.

Harry flinched in his sleep and Hermione shushed loudly over the noise near his ear. He settled again as Dumbledore brought the court back into order. Mrs. Black sat regally, uncaring of the insults thrown her way. Hermione was disturbed to realize it was not unlike the way Sirius carried himself when they had first insulted him.

"Mrs. Black," Knot began once the room was quiet again, "do you believe your son to be a full supporter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and all that He stands for?"

Walburga smiled proudly at her son who glared back. "Yes."

"Mrs. Black, are you aware that your son married a muggleborn?"

Dead silence. A slow smirk slowly spread across Sirius' face as he watched his mother go white, then red, and then purple.

Mrs. Black exploded in a fit of rage. She was on her feet, yelling and cursing Sirius who sat and smiled widely. He basked in her fury like it was a warm summer's day. Hermione had to cast a silencing charm around Harry so he wouldn't wake.

"Mrs. Black! Mrs. Black, please!" Knot tried in vain to get the old witch to settle down. She eventually gave up on yelling at Sirius and turned to leave.

"It was good seeing you too, you old bitch!" Sirius shouted after her.

"Burn in hell!" Walburga screamed at him. She stormed past Knot and went to her seat amongst the audience members. The air crackled with magic around her.

Knot turned to the Wizengamot. "I — uhm… no further questions, I guess."

Dumbledore smiled in amusement and nodded. "It would appear so. Mr. Roden?" The prosecutor waved his hand. He didn't want to question Mrs. Black. "Your next character witness, then, Mr. Knot?"

Knot nodded and collected his papers at his table. "Yes, uhm, next I'd like to call to the stand Mrs. Black — that is, Mrs. _Hermione_ Black."

Hermione nervously rose to her feet. She could feel the daggers many were staring into her. The worst was to her right where Walburga sat. Holding Harry in her arms tightly, she made her way to the main floor.

Sirius smiled at her, his eyes lingering on Harry. "Wife."

"Husband."

She took the seat to Sirius' right, facing the Wizengamot.

"Please state your name and your relationship with the accused for the Wizengamot," Knot asked as he came out from behind his table to stand before her.

"My name is Hermione Jean Black and I am married to Sirius Black."

"Mrs. Black," Knot started when Hermione cut him off.

"Hermione, please, or Ms. Granger. I would like there to be some distinction between myself and my mother-in-law." A loud huff told her Walburga was offended or simply asking for more attention.

Knot smiled kindly. "Of course. How old are you… Ms. Granger?"

"Seventeen."

Knot nodded. "When did you and your husband wed?"

"Before the war ended," Hermione answered carefully. She had gone through each of his questions two days ago and crossed off many that she wouldn't be able to respond to under oath. She wasn't allowed to lie, but she could skew the truth. Technically, Sirius and she had gotten married before the war ended — the _second_ war.

"You were underage?" Hermione didn't respond, that wasn't a question she'd approved and she couldn't answer it truthfully. "You aren't in trouble for it."

"Lots of people were in a panic," Hermione responded slowly. "No one bothered to check." A fact that was also true. When she and Sirius had been at the Ministry, no one had asked her how old she was. She definitely did not look to be of age.

A member of the Wizengamot sniffed and commented, "A terrible oversight."

"Yes," Hermione agreed, "almost as bad as sending a wizard to Azkaban without trial."

The crowd broke out into murmurs. Sirius was smiling at her like she'd hung the sun for him. She hid her face in Harry's hair.

"Why is it," Knot continued once there was some order again, "that you married Sirius Black?"

Another Wizengamot member snorted. "I think it's rather obvious." Hermione looked up at him and his imperious tone of voice. He was looking significantly at the black haired bundle in her arms.

Hermione blushed madly. "That is not why we got married," she protested. Eyebrows rose in disbelief. "I was being targeted," Hermione explained through clenched teeth. She could feel Sirius eyes boring into the side of her face. He knew she couldn't lie. She knew he desperately wanted to hear her story — their story. "Sirius married me to save my life."

"Targeted by who?" Knot asked before the Wizengamot could intervene again.

"You-Know-Who."

Whispers broke out quietly, which were quickly hushed. "Why was He targeting you?"

Hermione opened her mouth. She closed it. This was not a line of questioning she had wanted to go down. She shifted in her seat uneasily. Finally, she sighed and explained, "In 1887, Albus Dumbledore achieved the highest OWL scores since Helena Ravenclaw. The only person to ever beat those scores was Tom Riddle, or as most know him: Lord Voldemort." Hermione ignored the gasps of horror. Hermione met Dumbledore's gaze as she declared, "I beat his test scores."

Knot was nearly stunned into silence. "You - you beat You-Know-Who's test scores?"

Hermione raised her head. "I did."

"And He found out?"

She licked her lips and nodded. "The last thing the war needed was someone so smart on his side. The only other person to come close to doing what I did was Lily Evans. She married James Potter right out of school and was protected. I… I had no protection. I'm muggleborn. I have no wizarding relatives to hide behind. I needed someone willing to lay their life down for me."

"And so Sirius Black married you to keep you out of the hands of the most feared dark wizard in history?"

Hermione turned and smiled at Sirius. She couldn't read the expression on his face, but it somewhere between awe and curiosity. "He did."

"Something like that would have no doubt put your husband in even greater danger during the war, no?"

Hermione tilted her head to the side. Responding was getting more complicated by the second. "We managed, for the most part."

"Ms. Granger, do you believe your husband would betray the Potters?"

"No," she responded immediately. "Sirius is loyal to a fault. James was his brother and Sirius would rather die than betray him. Lily as well. He would never hurt them."

"Thank you, no further questions."

Dumbledore nodded and turned to Mr. Roden, the prosecutor. "Your witness, Mr. Roden." Knot returned to his seat and the older, oily form of Mr. Roden stepped forward. Hermione was instantly on guard.

"You and Sirius have not been married for long, Mrs. Black." Hermione scowled at his tone and the title. "And a great deal of that time Sirius has been in prison. How well do even know the accused?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Well, I was sleeping with him, so probably better than you." Her comment gained her several reproachful looks but mostly just giggles and snorts.

Roden glared at her. "And what do you think its says about your _dear husband_ that he was willing to marry an underage witch so readily?"

"I think it says that he is a brave and courageous Gryffindor that is willing to do whatever needs to be done to protect those around him." Hermione knew she was getting worked up, but she couldn't help herself. Sirius was a hero. They should be thanking him for his service like any war hero. "More than I can say for many who cowered instead of fighting in the war." Harry squirmed in her arms as she leaned forward, her voice steadily rising.

"Then it was purely for your protection was it? Sirius gained no personal enjoyment from your union together?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I would certainly hope he did… I know I did."

Roden did not back down. "You honestly believe his decision to wed you had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to get you into bed? Sirius was a well-known bachelor in his days post-Hogwarts. He has never had a serious relationship. He chose you, I'm assuming because you're pretty and would be in debt to him." Roden raised an eyebrow. "There's very little a witch wouldn't do for a man she was in debt to."

Hermione shot forward, face filled with fury. "How dare you? You're talking as if I didn't have a choice!"

Harry's eyes blinked open and he rubbed at them with his little fists. He yawned and looked around. They were still in the big circular room, he noted, and Hermione seemed very upset about it.

"But you didn't!" Roden was shouting at her. "You said yourself you are a muggleborn, you had no wizarding protection, you were underage. What choice did you have? Marry Black and do whatever he said or become a puppet for the Dark Lord. Either way, you would be getting screwed." People gasped at his vulgarity.

Harry flinched at the man's tone and Hermione held him against her chest tightly. "I did have a choice! Sirius was not my only option!" Harry looked over and saw a man in fancy black robes sitting in a chair. He looked furious, glaring at whoever was yelling at Hermione. "I chose Sirius!" Hermione shouted at Roden. "He did not choose me."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the furious looking man in the chair. He looked oddly familiar. Hermione and the other man continued to shout and normally such a thing would make Harry upset but… he knew that man in the other chair. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. He wiggled out of Hermione's arms and she barely noticed. She was still arguing with the unpleasant man standing over her.

Harry shuffled closer to the man in the chair. Sirius' eyes finally caught on Harry and his anger vanished. He watched Harry slowly inch towards him, a half smirk on his face. Sirius leaned down when Harry grew closer and mimicked Harry's serious face with narrowed eyes of his own. It was mocking and playful and Harry smiled.

The little toddler thought he might just remember who this black haired man was. He pointed his finger at Sirius' mouth and slowly inched closer. Sirius watched him with mirth dancing in his eyes. When he got closer enough that he was nearly touching Sirius' lips, Sirius snapped his teeth and pretended to try and bite the offered finger.

Harry jumped back and squealed in delight. He jumped up and down and turned to a shocked Hermione. "Padfoot! Padfoot! 'Mione! 'Mione! Is Padfoot!" He pointed at Padfoot as he jumped excitedly up and down.

Hermione shook her head. "Harry? What…" Harry remembered Sirius. That was not something she'd been expecting.

"Harry?" an old voice carried through the shouts and whispers as people slowly began to realize the small boy was not a Black bastard but in fact The-Boy-Who-Lived. Harry turned to Dumbledore, who had spoken. "Do you know this man?" Dumbledore gestured to Sirius.

Harry nodded, a wide toothless smile on his face. "Is Padfoot."

"And who is Padfoot?"

"My friend."

A stern looking wizard of the Wizengamot leaned forward as he asked, "Did Padfoot ever try and scare you? Hurt you perhaps?"

Harry frowned and shook his head. "No." He looked to Hermione. "Play with Padfoot?"

"Uhm… not right now, Harry."

Harry pouted. "Please…" he whined.

"Harry," Hermione emphasized, sternly but not unkindly. Harry hung his head and scuffed his shoe against the floor. He turned big, sad eyes up to his friend. Sirius smiled at him lovingly. Harry didn't notice everyone watching him as he grinned at the older wizard and crawled up into his lap. The entire court was silent — most in horror, the rest in curiosity.

Roden glared at the toddler. "No further questions." Hermione sighed in relief. Roden had been asking very dangerous questions. She headed over to Sirius and Harry. When she bent down to pick up Harry, Sirius took her hand.

"The rat?" he questioned quietly.

Hermione raised an eyebrow but she couldn't hide her triumphant smile. "Patience is a virtue, mutt."

He nodded once. "But apparently I have none, child bride."

She glared at him. "I'm of age, hardly a child bride."

He rolled his eyes. "It's called a joke." She continued to glare. "How about a kiss for good luck?"

She continued to glare.

Harry rose up on his knees and hugged Sirius around his neck. He kissed the older wizard on his cheek. "Good luck," he told Sirius sweetly, garbling the words as he tried to repeat them. Sirius smiled at him. He turned back to Hermione and raised an eyebrow.

She sighed and rolled her eyes before leaning forward to kiss his cheek. Sirius turned his head and caught her lips with his own. The bond sparked between them, enticing Hermione to linger. She pulled back but couldn't stop herself from licking her lips. "Bad dog," she scolded. Hermione plucked Harry from Sirius' lap who smiled at her shamelessly. The two returned to their seats amongst the rest of the witnesses. Everyone's eyes were on them.

"Quite the turn of events," Dumbledore mused to the softly murmuring courtroom. He looked amiable but his eyes were hard on Hermione. She looked away, deliberately not meeting his gaze.

"This is ridiculous," Roden argued from his table. "Harry Potter is barely older than a baby. He doesn't know who Black is, he doesn't understand what transpired when he was an infant. His account should be stricken from the record."

"Your honour," Knot interrupted, on his feet in an instant, "Mr. Potter may be young, but his familiarity with the accused demonstrates Mr. Black's character far better than any other witness here. He is, after all, The-Boy-Who-Lived."

Dumbledore nodded along as members of the Wizengamot murmured in agreement. "That is true, that is true. However, character witnesses can go only so far and the kindest man can be driven to the worst extremes. Determining Mr. Black's _character_ does very little for our purpose today, which is to determine his _innocence_. Now, since you have no evidence to prove this, I think it's about time—"

"Your honour!" Knot interrupted quickly. "I do. I have a witness with evidence that will prove Sirius Black's innocence." The crowd was absolutely silent.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes on Knot. "Well, then… proceed."

Knot cleared his throat and shuffled his papers around on his desk for a moment. "I call auror Kingsley Shaklebolt to the stand, please."

The tall, dark skinned wizard rose up in his deep blue robes. He had a small wooden box at his side that he brought with him. He set it on the ground before his feet. Sirius' eyes locked on the box, his eyes filled with such a burning rage that it left little doubt to Hermione who was inside.

"Auror Shaklebolt, you attended Hogwarts with Sirius Black, correct?" Knot began once they were past the formal introductions to the Wizengamot.

Kingsley nodded. "Yes, I was a few years behind, however. We didn't have much contact since I was in Ravenclaw."

"Of course, and were you assigned to the Potter's case when that terrible night occurred?"

"No, I was not yet an auror. I've really only gotten out of training recently."

"Can you please inform the court of the events that occurred on the night of December 20th, 1982?"

"I was in the office doing my usual paperwork. I'd been assigned to sort through the anonymous tips and leads that get sent in by post. It's fairly dull work, a lot of it is people seeing things in the shadows. We're all still fairly on edge."

"Understandably so."

"Of course. Well, an owl came through, which immediately had me on edge 'cause they're supposed to go to the owl directory. The owl was for me, but it was also anonymous." Kingsley's deep voice filled the courtroom, lulling the crowd back to a peaceful state. He had magnificent aura, the young auror. He could will an entire room to his will, effortlessly.

"A person sent the note directly to you?"

"They did."

"Did you open this note? What did it say?"

"It said, quite simply, '_Peter Pettigrew is alive. I can give him to you_.'" There were several sharp intakes of breath. "I - I was stunned. I waited and suddenly the words changed on the note to a time and location. A clever bit of magic, really, the note destroyed itself seconds later." Not unlike the way a Department of Mysteries' note did. Hermione had been inspired, after all.

"The note is gone?"

"Yes, sir."

"So, you had no way to trace the note to its origin?"

"No, sir."

"Did you meet with the person?"

"I did. They wished to remain anonymous and I intend to keep that promise." Kingsley gave the lawyer and the Wizengamot a significant look. "I was told where to find Pettigrew and how he'd been hiding all this time."

"And how is that, auror Shaklebolt?"

Kingsley turned and smirked at Sirius who raised an eyebrow back. "Turns out, Black and his friends had all become animagus whilst in school."

Roden jumped to his feet amongst the stunned shouts. "Objection, your honour. This is preposterous. Not only is he claiming the hero Pettigrew to be a _traitor_, he is suggesting _schoolboys_ could do what some of the most incredible of wizards cannot. Animagus," Roden scoffed the final word as if it were a slur.

"Overruled," Dumbledore stated calmly. He sighed under his breath and turned to Knot. "Proceed." Hermione hid her smile in Harry's wild hair at the back of his head. Dumbledore had clearly given in. It would be smooth sailing from here.

Sirius' smirk did not fall from his face. He raised his eyebrows at Kingsley and nodded for him to continue. He didn't like the idea of his secret getting out, but it was worth it if it meant Peter got thrown into that hole he'd been living in for over a year.

"Pettigrew was hiding in the form of a rat, at the residence of the Weasley's as one of their children's familiar. I went there and was able to identify him by his missing finger. Then, I used a spell that turned him human once more." The crowd was steadily growing louder in confusion and outrage. Dumbledore was having trouble keeping them quiet.

Knot continued over the noise. "And did you bring Pettigrew with you now?"

"I did."

Knot gestured in permission and Kingsley stood. He waved his wand at the wooden box at his feet and muttered a spell. The box shook and glowed and quite suddenly, it broke. A pudgy, straw-haired and buck toothed man formed into life from within the remains of the box. Peter Pettigrew cowered beneath the heavy stares of the Wizengamot.

There was a long moment of silence and then the room erupted in noise. No one was louder though, than the furious shouts of Sirius Black. He moved as far forward as he could, chained to his chair as he was. He yelled and spat threats at his once friend.

"Traitor!" was his loudest cry of pain. "You bastard! You killed them!"

Harry pressed his face into Hermione's neck. His tears wet her skin and she rubbed his back soothingly. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew he'd never seen Padfoot look so scary. The room filled with loud noise and horrible shouts. Harry shook like a leaf. This wasn't his Padfoot after all, he thought. His Padfoot would never act so scary. Hermione held Harry closely and shushed over the yelling of the courtroom. The toddler clutched at her as he cried. He really wanted to just go home.

Excited shouts surrounded them but all Harry heard were loud voices and Padfoot's terrifying voice. "Innocent! Innocent!" the crowd cried together.

Hermione held him tightly.

* * *

I love the interaction between Sirius and Walburga xD Any favourite parts?

For those of you who noted there was a discrepancy between Harry's age and his speaking abilities, originally he was supposed to be older. I thought I had edited all his speaking parts but I must have missed the last chapter. Let me know if anyone spots me mentioning he's older than 2 or the date is different. I am my own editing team and that causes issues from time to time.

Thanks for reading! xx

*Update: shoutout to the reviewer who spotted a date discrepancy. I hate those, so thanks for having my back!


	6. Chapter Six

_Chapter Six_

_\- January 1983 -_

Harry was still crying. Hermione held the tiny boy and rocked him as she paced the quiet room.

They were in a small antechamber that Kingsley had brought her to once the trial had finally finished. People were everywhere. Reporters had big, flashing cameras just outside the room. Hermione was sure they'd snapped more than a few of Hermione and Harry. Harry had cried through it all and she was scared what the _Prophet_ might write about that.

Sirius had been all but taken away after the proceedings. Papers needed to be signed and reparations given. It wasn't everyday that someone was released from Azkaban — proven innocent. Actually, it was the very first time.

Hermione stroked Harry's hair as her mind wandered to that fact. Originally, Sirius Black had been famous for being the first man to escape Azkaban. Now, he was the first man to be proven innocent and set free from the horrid prison. No matter what, Sirius just had to be in the thick of it. She wondered if fate had a hand in it all. The man was simply not made to live in the shadows.

Harry was just finally calming down when the door opened. The toddler flinched as the room was filled with shouts and the sound of bulbs cracking as cameras flashed. Sirius slammed the door shut behind him and leaned against it as he let out a breath.

His eyes slowly raised from the floor and drew up the length of his wife and godson. "Sorry," he winced when he noticed Harry shaking and crying into her neck, "like bloodhounds out there."

Hermione offered a weak smile. Well, this was horribly awkward. She immediately moved into bossy-mode. "We need to get him home." She nodded to the fireplace. "We'll floo if that's alright?"

Sirius stood and straightened his robes. He nodded once. "'course."

Hermione stepped up to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Hold your breath, dear," she whispered tenderly to Harry. He was silent but his tears still wet her robes. "And shut your eyes, this'll be a bit different from apparating." She threw the powder down and loudly called out the address for Sirius' flat before they disappeared in a flash of bright green flames.

Sirius was only mildly surprised that they were staying at his flat. He grabbed some floo powder and followed immediately after. His eyes instantly locked on Hermione who was trying to settle a frustrated and unhappy toddler. She set him on the ground and cupped his face in her hands. Harry's little hands fisted in her robes, refusing to let her go.

"It's okay, love. We're home now." She stroked his face lovingly. "Everything's okay."

Sirius took a deep breath, savouring her words. Everything _was_ okay now. It truly was. He didn't have to go back. He didn't have to suffer through the endless cold, the sadness, the terrible darkness that surrounded him. But he could still feel it, like a layer of grime over his skin. Perhaps it would always remain there.

Instead of allowing his thoughts to turn further down that dark road, he focused on the pretty witch still soothing the baby. Sirius revelled in the magnetic pull he felt drawing him towards her. He wanted to run his fingers through her curls and breathe in the chocolate and cherries scent of her.

Hermione glanced towards him. She nodded to the bedroom. "Go clean up, I'll take care of Harry."

Sirius blinked. He turned his attention to Harry who was eyeing him warily. Tears still filled his bright green eyes. Lily's eyes. Sirius' chest ached and he looked away. Without a word, he turned and entered the bedroom. Through the next door, he entered the bath and stripped down.

Hot water. _Merlin's balls_, he hadn't had a proper shower in ages. The rough scrub down he'd been given before Hermione's visit and again before the trial certainly didn't count. He stood under the steaming water for what felt like ages. His eyes closed and his mind focused on that little ball of magic at the centre of his heart — Hermione.

The little witch actually did it. She got him out. Fuck. He owed her everything.

He couldn't imagine what would have become to him if she hadn't of done what she did. But Hermione could — Hermione _knew_. Sirius shivered despite the heat of the shower. He suddenly felt inexplicably cold. His wife, his darling little child bride from the future. She knew him. She clearly knew Harry.

1979 was the date of birth he'd been told on that little purple letter. September of 1979. So, she was in the same year as Harry. Great. He married his godson's schoolmate.

_To protect her_, a voice that sounded annoyingly like Lily reprimanded him. He banged his head against the tile. He hated that she was still his voice of reason. It hurt. His hands balled into fists against the tile and the tears fell unbidden down his face.

_James and Lily_. Their deaths felt like an open wound. One of the many pitfalls of the dementors had been his inability to move past their deaths. He felt the pain of it over and over. Every time the room filled with cold, warning the dementors approach, he knew it would come.

_James and Lily_. It was his fault. Peter may be in prison now, but if they'd only gone with James' gut and chosen Sirius as the secret keeper… It was all his fault, Sirius knew. He was to blame, no matter what the Wizengamot said. Dumbledore knew it too. No wonder the old man had been willing to let him rot.

Sirius shivered under the hot water. Or perhaps it had gone cold. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel. The ball of magic in his heart guided him into taking a slow, deep breath.

He exited back into the bedroom and opened up a dresser he didn't recognize. The top drawer was filled with what could only be Harry's clothes. The second was certainly Hermione's and finally, at the bottom, he found some of his old things. He threw on the warmest things he could find.

Normally, Sirius was always warm. His animagus ability enhanced certain attributes, the least of which were sight, hearing, and smell. One of the many others was increased body temperature, not unlike werewolves. It was probably one of the only reasons he'd made it out of Azkaban without frostbite claiming one of his fingers or toes.

But the chill plaguing him then was terrible. It felt bone deep. He sighed as he ran a hand through his damp hair, longer than it had ever been before. He pulled it up into a bung to keep it out of the way.

Perhaps he needed a drink.

His eyes opened. A drink. The thought of the burning warmth that a nice glass of fire whiskey would ignite in his chest was incredible. Warmth. He needed that warmth.

Sirius exited the bedroom, his mind set on one thing: firewhisky.

He barely even noticed Hermione at first. His entire focus was intent on the cupboard next to the fridge where he knew a bottle of firewhisky would be hiding. Sirius, however, froze when the soft humming of his wife reached his ears. Hermione was standing in the middle of the kitchen in her sock covered feet, her wizarding robe abandoned. She was wearing a soft blue dress that swished as she swayed. Harry was on her hip and Sirius' own wand waved from her other hand. She was a vision.

Hermione hummed softly as she waved his wand. Harry was watching her avidly. She turned and kissed his forehead as she moved away from the stove and to the counter. Harry smiled and snuggled into her.

Sirius felt like he was watching some muggle film. The fireplace crackled warmly in the living room and the heat filled the small, open flat. It felt… calm. He revelled in it.

Hermione finally noticed him a moment later. She blinked owlishly before turning her attention back to Harry. She gently placed him on his feet. "How about you go watch some tele while I finish up, okay?" Harry looked over his shoulder at Sirius. The two wizards eyed each other warily. Harry shot Hermione a worried look before he dashed around Sirius and made his way to the couch. The tele flicked on a second later.

Sirius didn't know how to feel about Harry's obvious distrust of him. He figured he deserved it. The kid's parents were dead because of him, after all. His gaze followed Harry into the living room as his heart broke for the toddler. James and Lily should have been there as well.

A hand touched his own and warmth seeped into his skin. Sirius almost hissed in shock. His head whipped around and he stared wide-eyed at Hermione. Her whisky coloured eyes looked up at him and for some reason, he didn't feel the urge to find a drink.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly. Sirius nodded shakily. Hermione didn't look convinced. "Dinner's almost ready. Can you set the table?"

"Sure," he replied shortly, his voice coming out gruff. She smiled at him and the warmth from her touch spread through his chest. He stopped shaking. The second she let go of him, Sirius felt like the world had gone black and white. It felt like something was missing.

Hermione bustled about the kitchen as she finished making something that smelled mouth-watering. He didn't know what it was, but it would certainly be better than whatever crap he tried to make. Dutifully, Sirius pulled out the plates and set the table. He glanced towards the couch and saw Harry watching him before the little boy whipped his head back around to the tele.

"How…how long?" he asked her quietly. Hermione hummed and looked over her shoulder at him as she cut vegetables. "How long have you been here?"

"The day I saw you was when I arrived here."

"I meant _here_."

Hermione shrugged a shoulder carelessly. "Pretty much the next day. I knew you had a flat but I wasn't sure where."

Sirius remembered the little card she'd given him before it suddenly vanished. It had said she appeared at Grimmauld Place of all places. "We didn't… did we live at Grimmauld?"

Hermione briefly paused in her cutting. She glanced at him warily. "It's complicated."

Sirius scowled. "You say that a lot."

"Well, it is," she insisted.

His scowl turned into a glare. "I'm going to need _some_ answers."

"Of course," she replied tersely. She glanced over at Harry. "Later. Okay?" He wasn't pleased with that response but gave a short nod nonetheless. Hermione turned back to the counter and waved Sirius' wand. All the vegetables piled into a bowl to make a salad. She gave it to Sirius and he set it on the table. He finished setting the table as she took whatever was making that delicious smell out of the oven.

"Harry," Hermione called gently as she made her way to the couch. "Dinner is ready, go wash your hands." The raven-haired boy jumped up and flicked the tele off. Sirius only just registered the fact that he hadn't actually ever owned one before. Hermione must have gotten it. He blinked and looked away.

The witch piled each plate with a thick slice of lasagne before floating the plates back to the table. Harry came out into the kitchen and Hermione picked him up to place him in a booster seat in the chair next to her own. Sirius sat across from them, observing them keenly.

Harry looked up at Hermione. "No spaghetti?"

She smiled and kissed his head. "No spaghetti. Today is Sirius' special day so I made his favourite. It's lasagne, you'll love it." Hermione placed a slice of garlic bread on his plate as she said this. She took her seat beside him.

Sirius looked down at his plate. Lasagne. It _was_ his favourite. He opened his mouth to ask how she knew that before he remembered — _from the future_. There was probably a whole host of things his young wife knew about him. And he knew her name.

"Sirius?" He looked up from his untouched plate and met Hermione's concerned look. "Is something wrong with the food?" she asked in a small voice.

He shook his head quickly. "No, it's fine." Something flashed in her eyes and Sirius quickly added, "Delicious."

Hermione smiled nervously. "You haven't touched it yet," she pointed out weakly.

The cold was creeping in on him again. He fidgeted in his seat. "I'm not very hungry." Hermione's eyes rounded as they widened sadly. She looked so innocent and it made him feel old, dirty, and terribly alone. "Have we got any firewhisky?"

A line appeared between Hermione's brows as she frowned. She softly shook her head. "Sirius…"

"It would go great with this meal," he insisted, trying to inject some normality into his voice. He clenched his hands into fists to stop the shaking that had started up again.

Hermione slowly reached across the table. Her finger touched his tightened fist and that was all it took to fight back the demons on the edge of his mind and soul. It was like a spark of heat at the centre of his chest. What had felt cold and dead was suddenly warm and full of life again. "Please eat something, Sirius."

Sirius stared at her for a long moment. The warmth in his chest expanded outward slowly. Every time she touched him it got stronger. He nodded once and used his free hand to pick up his fork. Hermione began to slip her hand away and Sirius quickly caught her wrist before she could. He loosened his hold and gently took her hand in his own. He turned to his meal without a word. Sirius could feel her eyes on him as he began to eat but he didn't look back up, nor did he let go of her hand.

They held hands throughout the rest of dinner.

\/

Sirius glared at the witch harshly as she closed the bedroom door. His entire body was tense. The anger rolled off of him in waves. Hermione had just finished putting Harry to bed, an action that apparently took a considerable amount of time. Sirius had almost thought the witch was going to leave him there awaiting answers until the sun rose.

Hermione turned and eyed him nervously.

"Talk," he ground out through clenched teeth. His body was shivering again and if it weren't for the coldness in his chest he would have thought it was from rage.

She winced and shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know what you want me to say."

Sirius' eyes glinted in the crackling fire. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe explain who the _fuck_ you are, how you got here, how you got your hands on my _godson—_" He cut himself off, breathing heavily. He crossed his arms over his chest but he still felt like he was freezing.

Hermione's eyes grew impossibly wider and her shoulders hunched. "I - I'm Hermione…" she explained at a loss for how else to begin such an impossibly complicated conversation.

Sirius' eyes narrowed. "Why did we _actually_ have to get married?" He wasn't an idiot. He knew the little witch had left things out of her account at the Ministry. Omission of the truth was not the same as lying in a court of law.

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest as she looked away. "There was this… a problem, I guess you could call it."

"Oh, no," Sirius interrupted with a dark look. "I am not the Ministry. You don't get to choose words with me, witch. The _truth_." He stepped closer, his height and broad shoulders were easily intimidating. "Now."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. She didn't seem cowed by his anger. "He implemented a Marriage Law."

"Who?"

"Voldemort."

Sirius violently flinched back. He stared at her in horror. "He's _dead_." Hermione didn't say anything. Sirius stepped towards her imposingly, his anger flooding the room with heavy magic. "Tell me that monster is dead."

Hermione sucked in a breath between her teeth. Sirius' sharp grey eyes pinned her where she stood. She nodded weakly. "He's dead."

Sirius breathed heavily. "But he won't stay that way?" His eyes narrowed on her and Hermione bristled at the _accusation_ in his gaze — as if it were her fault.

Hermione glared at him defiantly. She was not the one to blame for Voldemort's resurrection. She simply had the pleasure of being the messenger. "Still want the whole truth?"

Sirius recovered quickly with an acidic glare. "Go on, child bride."

Hermione's mouth pinched. "He had influence in the Ministry and we knew that but—" she looked down and her brows creased, "we didn't realize how much."

"Marriage Law?" Sirius' tone could be considered scathing at best.

"It only affected of age witches and wizards. Dumbledore suspected it was a way for the Death Eaters to get their hands on some of us in the Order - or associated with, as the case may be with me."

Sirius brought his hands down to his sides. They visibly shook as they clenched into fists. "And they thought that _I_ was a brilliant option for a little girl?"

Hermione's cheeks pinked. "You didn't seem all that upset when I was screwing you in Azkaban." Sirius tensed. She huffed and shook her head, hands on her hips. "No one knew," she revealed finally. "I used a time-turner when I was thirteen. I'm older than I'm supposed to be and the Ministry had me recorded as 'of age.'"

Some of the tension left his shoulders at that revelation. "When did you find out?"

"The day before the law would be enacted," she whispered. Her eyes dropped to the rug beneath her sock covered toes. "One of the Order members had known. He didn't say how but it was fairly obvious he'd kept the information deliberately." She looked up and met Sirius' confused face. "He wanted to marry me." She was proud that her voice only trembled on the last word.

"An Order member?" Sirius questioned slowly. She was being just a bit vague still. What sort of man orchestrated a situation in which he was a poor girl's last option? Not a good man, that was for sure.

Hermione nodded. "But you offered and I chose you instead."

"Me?" he replied disbelievingly. "Why did I offer?" He wasn't stupid. Sirius knew himself and offering himself up for marriage to a little girl was not something he'd ever offer in normal circumstances.

Hermione studied him for a long moment. "Harry is my best friend." For a moment, Sirius almost looked like she had slapped him. "You and I know each other. We have for several years and… I guess you didn't want me to end up with… him."

"You guess?"

"I know."

"I married my godson's best friend?" He pointed to the bedroom where said godson slept peacefully within.

Her eyes teared. "I'm sorry."

Sirius roughly dragged his hands through his hair as he began to pace. "Okay, no, that's not weird at all. This is all totally normal." Hermione winced and hugged herself. "And how did this lead to you getting here?"

"An accident," Hermione responded as she wiped away nonexistent tears, "with a time-turner." She shrugged weakly.

"Right. Of course."

He was still pacing.

"Sirius?"

He froze and turned to her slowly. Hermione watched him nervously as he seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. "How long?" he asked quietly. "How long had we been married for before you got here?"

Hermione winced and looked down. "About a week?" He groaned loudly. "It's not exactly like I planned all of this!" she whispered loudly.

"_That_ is more than obvious."

Hermione dropped her hands to her hips as she glared at him. "Oh? Is it? I'm sorry. Who just got you out of Azkaban in less than a _month_? Who got Harry out of the Dursley's house? I got your flat together and made it a _home_! I may not have planned this but at least I've got my _shit_ together!" She pushed against his chest angrily.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"What does it sound like? Think, Sirius. For once in your life! If you'd thought before running off you never would have ended up in Azkaban!"

Sirius' eyes darkened as he took an imposing step forward. "You want to say that again, princess?"

She took a step closer as well, uncowed by his imposing stance. "Harry never would have ended up in that place if you'd just used your brain."

"Why you little—"

"He lived in a cupboard!" she half whispered, half yelled at him. Sirius froze. "You're his _godfather_. The second James and Lily were gone he should have been your top priority, not _revenge_," she sneered the last word. Tears gathered in her eyes. Her throat felt swollen. "He never should have ended up there," she hissed as her fists shook at her sides.

Sirius' eyes went cold and dead. His anger moved inwards in a flash. He stepped back. The tension between them fizzled and snapped like a poorly brewed potion. His nose tilted up and that carelessly aristocratic look she had once admired was levelled at herself.

"Well," Sirius responded coolly, "it's a good thing he's got you now, isn't it?"

Hermione wilted. "_Sirius_."

"I'm tired," he dismissed as he looked away. He moved the pillow to the end of the couch and pulled down the throw that was hung over the back.

"Sirius, wait—" He turned and fixed her with an emotionless stare. Hermione hesitated. "I didn't mean it."

"Didn't you?" She opened her mouth but Sirius continued before she could respond. "I don't blame you. You're right. At least we're all on the same page about how much of a raging fuck up I am."

And Hermione felt like a complete piece of shit. She opened her mouth again but was interrupted once more as the bedroom door opened. Hermione and Sirius both turned to see Harry standing in his light blue pyjamas. He had tears streaming down his cheeks. His bright green eyes were fixed solely on her.

"'Mione," he whimpered, his hands raised into the air for her.

Hermione immediately went to the toddler. "Did you have another nightmare, darling?" she asked as she picked him up. Harry wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face into her hair. He nodded mutely.

Hermione kissed his head and stroked his hair gently. She glanced over at Sirius but he had curled into the couch, the blanket was wrapped tightly around his shoulders and his back was facing her. Hermione sighed but resolved to deal with it in the morning.

Harry was her number one priority and wasn't that suddenly a bitter pill to swallow.

* * *

Well, definitely not all rainbows and sunshine in this story. Sorry for all of you that were really excited for more Sirius/Hermione! Patience is a virtue and character development is a necessity.

I finally finished my TESL course so yes, EVERY story gets a new chapter. Woo!

Thanks for reading! xx


	7. Chapter Seven

_Chapter Seven_

_\- January 1983 -_

Harry had his face pressed up close to the small oven door as he watched the gooey cookies rise.

"Harry, away from the oven." He took a step back but kept his eyes on the prize. Hermione set her hands on her hips and huffed in amusement. She came up behind him and hugged him close. He leaned into her body as she felt the warmth on his face with her hands. "You're going to get a tan," she teased.

Harry giggled.

A huff sounded from the couch. Harry immediately tensed. He glanced towards the scruffy looking figure on the other side of the apartment. Sirius ignored them, as usual, whilst still managing to be the centre of attention.

Harry shifted uneasily. A week had gone by and the young boy had still not adjusted to the new addition to the home.

Hermione tickled Harry's tummy gently to get his attention. His eyes quickly shifted to her. "Let's draw together, okay? The cookies need time."

"Okay," he responded quietly. Harry took her hand and followed her to the kitchen table. Harry had been particularly subdued since Sirius' return. Hermione had been both unsurprised and dismayed at the mutual apathy the two seemed to display for one another. She knew Harry was skittish on the best of days but Sirius had no excuse. He had no excuse for any of his terrible behaviours in the last two weeks.

Banging doors, dark grumblings; Sirius had made his displeasure with his wife more than abundantly clear. Sirius and Hermione's argument the first night had been one thing, but the argument that had ensued after Hermione's declaration of an alcohol-free flat had been something else altogether. Harry had hidden in the bedroom closet for four hours, only to be coaxed out by treacle tart and warm hugs.

From that moment on, Sirius had refused to acknowledge Harry and Hermione. He wallowed like the man-child he was. And she was his misplaced child bride, she thought bitterly.

"''Mione, use blue," Harry ordered as he took her brown crayon away and replaced it with the other colour.

"On the monkey?" she asked as Harry coloured a lion green.

He nodded. "Yep."

"Yes," she corrected.

"Yep."

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled fondly. "Is blue your favourite colour?" she asked as she stroked his fringe out of his eyes. So far, the toddler had cried any time she so much as suggested a haircut, but Hermione had a sneaking suspicion it was more of a Slytherin tactic rather than genuine fear.

Harry shook his head as he continued to colour. His knees were bent beneath him on the chair as he leaned over the table. "What's your favourite colour, sweetie?"

Harry paused and scrunched his nose up as he thought. Hermione smiled at him lovingly. "Purple," he finally decided.

"Purple?" He nodded and shrugged as he looked back down at his colour book. His answer tended to change daily.

A knock came from the door. All three occupants of the flat froze and turned collectively to look at the door. No one had knocked on the door… ever.

Another knock.

Nervously, Hermione rose from her seat. She hesitantly pulled the door open.

"Professor!" None other than Professor McGonagall herself stood on her doorstep. The professor raised an eyebrow at Hermione. The witch blushed, immediately chastised. "Please, come in." Hermione stepped back to let her professor through. She closed the door and smiled awkwardly as the elder witch looked around the large, square apartment.

"Harry," Hermione called for the toddler's attention even though his eyes had not left her, "come say hi to Professor McGonagall."

Harry slipped off his chair and immediately ran to Hermione's side. He wrapped his arms around her leg and buried his face into her thigh. "_Harry_," she chided gently. He did not budge.

Professor McGonagall was unfazed. She gave a rare, gentle smile to the son of two of her favourite students. "Hello, Harry. You're looking very well." If Harry responded, it was muffled in Hermione's jean-clad thigh. "I'm sorry I missed Christmas, but I brought this for you." From her robes, she pulled out a bright red gift with white ribbons.

One bright green eye poked out from the curve of Hermione's thigh. "Oh, look at that!" Hermione exclaimed brightly. She took the present and looked down at Harry. "What do we say to Professor McGonagall, Harry?" The young boy mumbled something into her thigh. Hermione gave her professor an awkward smile. "Thank you."

McGonagall's smile was noticeably tighter when aimed at Hermione. The young witch tried not to let it affect her. "Is Sirius here?"

Hermione's lips pursed. "The lump is doing a fantastic impression of a couch bump." She gestured towards the living area.

The professor turned towards the couch where Sirius was looking over the arm, his grey eyes wide. Minerva nodded towards the sliding glass door and without a word, they both moved to exit onto the balcony.

The sliding glass door clicked shut behind them. Minerva waved her wand and quickly cast both silencing and warming charms around the balcony. She turned to her favourite student. "Let me get a look at you." Sirius' shoulders hunched, not unaware of his unshaven face, still uncut hair, and the dark circles under his eyes. His hands were shaking at a level that had actually become uncontrollable. "Sirius Black. You look like complete rubbish," she announced. Sirius sighed. She wasn't wrong. Minerva's expression turned pinched. "Oh my boy. I was so worried about you."

She wrapped her arms around the young wizard and pulled him into a tight hug. Her shoulders shook and Sirius was faced with the completely incomprehensible situation of a sobbing Professor McGonagall.

"Hey, shh…" he immediately soothed. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. He absently noted that Minerva's touch did not provide the same level of warmth and comfort that Hermione's did. "It's okay. I'm fine."

Minerva pulled back with a fierce glare. "Don't you dare lie to me, young man. I'm not a fool. I'm well aware what Azkaban does to a person. How are you coping?" Her eyes flickered over his form, her expression telling him she didn't think he was coping much at all.

Sirius knew there was no point in lying to her. "I'm not," he despaired. "All I want is to bury myself at the bottom of a bottle but little _Mrs. Black_ over there refuses to have alcohol in the house." He shot the curly haired witch a glare. She was checking on the cookies with an excited Harry.

"Smart witch."

Sirius scowled at the professor. "Who's side are you on?"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Alcohol won't heal you. Only time, love, and family will do that. Why are you wasting away on the couch? You have Harry to think of and that sweet little lass." Sirius' single comment about keeping him sober had clearly won Minerva over. He snorted at her description of Hermione. "What?"

"Do you recognize her?" he asked pointedly, a cruel little grin on his face.

"Well, no, of course not," she responded, slightly flustered at the question.

"Funny, that. How you don't know her but she was a student at Hogwarts. A Gryffindor too, I think."

Minerva turned and fixed the young Mrs. Black with a fierce stare. Her eyes flickered over every inch of the witch as her mind raced at the implications of Sirius' words. She turned back to the young man she thought of as her son in all but blood. "Explain."

"She's from the future." Her eyes widened and she blinked quickly. "She's the same bloody age as Harry. They went to school together. They're bleeding best friends."

Minerva blinked rapidly. "How did she get here?"

"Accident with a time-turner. She was attacked, I think. She hasn't said anything about it, but I owled Kingsley. He and Moody were called in when my mother was screeching about an intruder. Hermione was at my family home. She had bruises on her neck like someone had tried to choke the life out of her." He didn't mention that she had also been covered in lovebites and that she'd been wearing nothing but his band shirt.

"I don't understand. Did you meet her before the end of the war? And then married her?" That's what Hermione had said at the trial, so Sirius didn't blame his teacher for believing it. After all, one couldn't lie in a magical trial.

Sirius took a deep breath. "The first time I met my wife, I was in Azkaban chained to a chair and we were already married. She married my future self."

Minerva turned and stared at the young witch. She still by the oven with Harry, smiling and talking with the little boy. Her face was free of makeup, her curls piled up on her head and putting her youth on display for the world to see. "But… she's just a girl."

Sirius felt his heart constrict. Yes, she really was. She was a very intelligent and mature girl, especially given all she had accomplished in such a short amount of time - both her own and this one - but she was still just a girl. "There were extenuating circumstances," he explained. "She wasn't exactly lying during the trial. Apparently, I did save her. She was set up to marry some creep and I stepped in."

"And now she's here," Minerva finished, still watching the witch.

Sirius sighed, also watching as Hermione and Harry put another batch of cookies in the oven. "Yeah."

Minerva turned back to Sirius. "And the first thing she did after getting Harry away from those horrid muggles was save you." Sirius didn't have a response to that. Minerva raised an eyebrow at him. "Have you thanked her yet?" He winced. "Oh, Sirius. Get your head out of your arse and realize what's in front of you. Wasting away, waiting for a bottle of rum to fall into your lap isn't going to fill that void in your heart. It's the two people in that flat there. You need to pull yourself together."

"What's the point?"

She slapped him.

"Oi!"

"Look in there," she demanded. He did, and his heart ached a bit at the sight of Hermione tickling a laughing Harry. "She is just a child herself and she's raising that boy all on her own and you can't take the time to have a bloody shower? You think you're the only one upset and hurting? You just told me she's from a good 15 years or so into the future and you're wallowing around like you're life's in ruins?

"That girl will likely never see her parents again, her siblings, her friends, her bloody familiar if she has one. She has lost everything. The least you could do is help her not drown beneath the trials of motherhood. For once, Sirius, my dear loving boy, think about someone else."

"Minnie…" he sighed. She always told him exactly what he needed to hear, even if he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to face Hermione and Harry. He didn't want to face the repercussions of mistakes he had made in the past and apparently ones he had made in the future.

Minverva stepped closer and gently cupped Sirius' face in her hands. "I love you, with all my heart. If I had a son I'd want him to be just like you." Her eyes shined with unshed tears as she said this and Sirius felt his heart constrict again. "And if you were my son, I would slap you again for acting so foolish."

He grinned, despite himself. "But… how do I get over the… effects of Azkaban?"

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Have you tried asking your wife?" Sirius' confused stare was the only response she received. Minverva sighed and rested her hands on his shoulders. She gave him a comforting squeeze. "She got you out, Sirius. I'd assume that means you weren't released in her timeline. You must have suffered the symptoms there, probably significantly worse if you'd been exposed longer. Maybe there's a reason she isn't letting you near alcohol."

He hadn't thought of that.

"Please, just promise me you'll try."

Sirius sighed and looked up. She knew he wouldn't say no. He couldn't say no to her. She was the mother he had always wished for and had somehow been lucky enough to have had through their seven years at Hogwarts together. "Where do I start?" he asked when he met her gaze once more.

"Eat some food," she instructed briskly. "Drink lots of water and exercise everyday. Do anything and everything that couple possibly make you happy, that _isn't_ detrimental to your health. Talk to your wife. Spend time with your godson. My darling, enjoy your freedom."

Sirius wrapped her in a tight hug. "Thank you."

"I will be checking on you again," she informed him sternly. "Owl me, you'll visit during a Hogsmeade weekend and you'll bring your family along. That is non negotiable." She stuck a finger under his nose to make sure he understood these were not terms to be played about with.

Sirius smirked and saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

"Have you spoken with Remus?"

He shook his head. "I sent a letter but it only came back. I'm not sure where he is. I suspect once he sees all the papers he'll come running though."

"Good. Bring him too."

Sirius chuckled. "Sure. Thank you again, Minnie."

"Anytime."

Minerva turned and entered the flat again. Sirius stayed out on the balcony. The older witch smiled kindly at Hermione and Harry when she stopped by them in the kitchen. Her smile was significantly warmer on Hermione than it had been only minutes earlier.

"I think I'll be on my way out now," she told them. "Thank you for having me."

Hermione looked down and gave Harry a pointed stare. He swallowed and raced forward with a little brown paper package. "For you," was all he said before darting back to Hermione's side.

"Thank you, Harry," Minerva responded kindly.

"They're cookies," Hermione explained awkwardly. "A thank you for the present… and for stopping by." Her eyes flickered to Sirius as he finally entered the flat from the balcony.

"I hope I helped."

"Me too."

Minerva turned her attention to Harry and gave him a warm smile. "It was lovely seeing you again, Harry. I hope it happens again sometime soon."

She turned and was nearly at the door when Hermione shouted, "Tea!" Professor McGonagall froze and turned back, a single eyebrow raised high in question. Hermione shifted nervously on her feet. "Uhm… we could have tea, all of us… if you like? I'm sure that… Harry would love it." McGonagall studied her for a long moment. Hermione's face turned red. "I - I know it gets busy at school, but perhaps once classes let out -"

"- I'll send an owl."

Hermione's eyes teared and she smiled brightly. "Lovely."

Minerva gave the younger witch a long look. "It was wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Black."

"Hermione," she insisted.

"Hermione."

"Have a safe journey back, professor." Minerva smiled and nodded her head once before departing.

Hermione smiled to herself, a tear rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, before Harry could see and get upset. She wasn't quick enough though, and Sirius caught sight of it from the other side of the apartment. The animagus stared after her as Hermione put on a happy smile for Harry once more.

\/

He'd showered. He'd actually showered. Shaving was involved. He'd somehow gotten a haircut - had he left the flat? He was wearing proper clothes again and the couch was cleared off during the day once more - only turned back into a bed at night. It was miraculous. Hermione seriously considered sending Professor McGonagall a basket of her favourite biscuits.

It was a total 180. Sirius had gone from despondent to trying to achieve in less than 48 hours. It wasn't even fair. The same sort of turn around for Hermione would have involved at least one mental breakdown, a severe scolding from a third party, and a boat full of hair potions.

She wasn't entirely fooled. She knew a lot of it was an act. But she was also aware that half the battle for future Sirius had been putting up the act to start the healing process. She remembered him telling her that one day he realized he wasn't acting anymore, and he wasn't entirely sure when he'd stopped. It had simply happened.

Hermione hoped this younger Sirius would have the same epiphany. For now, he was making efforts around the flat and tentatively restarting a bond with Harry. The toddler was skittish at best but no longer raced away when Sirius looked in his direction. He still clung to Hermione's side and Hermione wasn't going to leave the two alone just yet, but the fact that Sirius was even trying meant the world.

\/

_The forest was dark. Fog filled the spaces between the trees. Shadows crept from the depths of the woods. It was freezing. The cold filled him. The darkness fueled him with power. He ghosted across the forest floor - floating - flying. _

_A twig snapped._

_He stilled. A creature lay further beyond. The darkness swallowed it. Bright yellow eyes fixed on him. He pounced._

_The creature screamed shrilly. Blood splattered across the forest floor. The creature struggled. It released a high keening sound. Its legs twitched. Magic flowed through the creature's blood. He drank it in - let the blood and magic fill him._

_More. He needed more. More blood. More magic. More._

Harry gasped awake. His face crumpled and tears immediately began to stream down his cheeks. The bedroom was dark like the forest had been. His forehead hurt and he pressed a hand to it.

Harry turned to Hermione for comfort but she was fast asleep. He eyed her in the darkness of the room, aware he had woken her up the past three nights in a row. She had been sleepy all day.

He sniffled and wiped his tears away. He didn't want to make Hermione anymore sleepy or sad. She got a lot more sad when she didn't sleep. He wasn't sure what she had to be sad about but he didn't like seeing it, all the same. She smiled less when she was sad and Harry liked Hermione's smiles.

Quietly, Harry slipped out of the bed. Maybe a glass of milk or a cookie would make it right. Maybe three cookies.

The door creaked as it opened. Harry stuck his head out and froze when his eyes met steel grey ones. Padfoot was awake. The older wizard raised an eyebrow at the toddler, an amused smirk crossing his face. He nodded towards the couch in invitation. Harry slipped out of the bedroom and edged towards where Sirius was sitting.

"Can't sleep?" Sirius asked. He set his book down on the table as he turned his full attention on Harry. Harry shuffled his feet, his fingers playing with the bottom of his sleep shirt. It had spaceships on it. He shook his head and looked down. "Nightmare?" Harry nodded, his eyes still on the floor.

Sirius eyed the young boy for a long moment. "Why didn't you wake Hermione?"

"She sad," Harry whispered. He looked up and Sirius had to suck in a breath when he was hit with the full force of those big emerald eyes. "I no like 'Mione sad." He earnestly shook his head as he said that and Sirius' heart constricted. He was such a sweet, perfect little boy. James and Lily would have cherished him.

Swallowing down his tears, Sirius stood. He walked around the couch to the kitchen. Harry ducked around the arm of the couch and watched as Padfoot pulled down the cookie jar. He turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Harry. The little boy smiled brightly in return.

"Milk?"

"Please."

Sirius brought the cookies and milk over to the couch and the two wizards settled in front of the tele. Harry picked up the remote and turned the muggle contraption on. He flicked through the channels like a pro before settling on an old episode of _Doctor Who_.

Sirius smiled sadly, remembering one of James' long rants about the complexity and ingeniousness of the sci-fi show. "A fan of this one?" He passed Harry a chocolate chip cookie.

Harry nodded and accepted the cookie. His eyes were on the tele.

"Your dad liked this show."

Harry's head whipped around to Sirius. "Daddy?"

It felt rather like someone was squeezing Sirius' heart in a fist. "Yeah," he choked out. "Your daddy. James. He loved this show."

Harry smiled sweetly. "I like it," he reiterated and turned back to the tele, clearly happy that he had something in common with his absent father.

Sirius smiled at the simple acceptance Harry had at such news. He figured the little boy would become more interested in stories about his parents when he was older. Sirius figured that all Harry's paternal yearnings had pretty much been answered with the arrival of Hermione. When he was old enough to understand the absence of his biological parents there would be questions. Sirius suddenly determined that when that moment arrived, he wanted to be ready for it. He wanted to be willing and happy to share stories about James and Lily. He would be.

Sirius opened the milk bottle and took a long gulp. Harry eyed him warily. "Bad, Padfoot."

Sirius snorted. "Because I didn't use a glass? But if you use a glass," Sirius reasoned, "you'll have to wash one." He offered Harry the bottle.

Harry considered the other man's words for a long moment before obviously deciding them to be wise. He nodded once and placed his cookie on his lap. He accepted the bottle of milk in both hands before slowly tipping it to his lips. He watched Sirius as he slowly raised the bottle, scared to spill. Sirius placed a hand under the bottle and helped him tip it up so he wouldn't make a mess.

Sirius placed the glass bottle back on the coffee table. Harry smiled and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. They went back to their cookies.

About three episodes and four cookies each later, the bedroom door opened. Both boys froze like guilty children when Hermione appeared. She squinted at them, clearly still half asleep.

"What're you two doing up?" She looked between the milk, cookies, tele, and the boys. She sighed. "It's _three in the morning_," she scolded.

Sirius winced.

Harry bravely stood and walked over to the irate witch. He held up a cookie for her. It had a little bite taken out of it. "Cookie?"

Hermione took one look at his big green eyes and her shoulders slumped. Harry smiled brightly. He took Hermione's hand and led her over to the couch where she plopped down next to her husband. Harry climbed onto her lap and picked up another two cookies. He handed one to Sirius and kept the last one for himself.

Sirius turned to Hermione, awe clearly written across his face. "He's _good_."

Hermione snorted. "You have _no idea_." She smiled, thinking of all the scrapes Harry had gotten her and Ron into… and then out of again with those big green eyes. "One episode," she claimed sternly to the both of them. The three settled back into the couch and watched as the theme of _Doctor Who_ whined out of the television set.

* * *

My life is so insane right now. Does anyone else know how hard it is to get a work visa for South Korea? It's a _nightmare_. Also, tomorrow I'll be working my last shift of a six day work week. I'm tired. I'm very tired. I'm posting this and then I'm posting the first chapter to a Sirmione called _According to Plan_ so please go check it out! I'm very much in love with it. I mentioned it a while back, it's partially inspired off of Hermione's story during the court scene back in chapter five. Enjoy!

xx


	8. Chapter Eight

_Chapter Eight_

_\- February 1983 -_

Sirius hummed and snuggled closer to the body of warmth in his arms. The scent of cherries filled his nostrils and he breathed deeply. His entire body felt warm. It was the first time he'd woken up without shivering since Azkaban. It was also the first time he hadn't been plagued with nightmares.

Sirius nuzzled the soft curls by his face. They were light and brought forth an even stronger scent of cherries. The woman in his arms hummed and shifted. A perfectly rounded arse pushed back against his morning erection and he growled in response. His hand curved around her hip and dipped toward the junction of her thighs. She released a breathy moan and -

_BANG_.

Sirius and Hermione shot up.

"Harry!" the latter called as she pushed her nightgown down. The two looked over the back of the couch to see Harry standing in the centre of the kitchen, surrounded by broken glass. He looked up at them, big fat tears were just on the verge of falling.

Hermione jumped to her feet. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Harry's tears immediately fell. "I'm sorry," he sobbed.

Sirius caught her elbow before she almost stepped on a piece of glass. "Wand?"

"Bedroom," she responded with a wave of her hand in that direction. He disappeared while Hermione raised her hands in a placating gesture to the toddler. "Don't move, Harry. Sirius went to get the wand. Once the glass is cleared, you can move."

Harry twisted his hands into the bottom of his shirt as silent tears fell down his cheeks. Sirius returned a second later and wordlessly waved his wand. The second the glass disappeared, Hermione raced forward. She lifted Harry into her arms and pressed kisses to his wet cheeks.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" She turned her attention to the state of the kitchen and a smile stretched across her face. There were cereal bowls, glasses, and fruits on the counter. A chair had been pulled from the kitchen table and pressed against the counter. "Were you trying to make breakfast?" She ran her fingers through his hair and pressed more kisses to his face. "That's so sweet." Harry pushed his face into the crook of her neck and tightly wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"It was a glass," Sirius explained, twirling the reconstructed object between his fingers.

"'m sorry," Harry mumbled. Hermione kissed his head.

"Hey, mate," the older wizard soothed. "It's fine. Look." He held up the glass. "Good as new."

Harry pulled away from Hermione to rub his eyes. He looked up at Sirius sadly.

"There's nothing to be upset about. We've got _magic_." He turned and tossed the glass into the middle of the kitchen tile where it immediately shattered. Harry flinched and Hermione gasped.

"Sirius!" she scolded.

The wizard waved his wand and the glass pieces flew back together before soaring across the kitchen and back into his hand. Harry's eyes widened. Sirius handed him the cup. "You try."

Hermione looked like she wanted to protest but bit her tongue. She eyed Harry, curious to see what he would do. He stared at the cup in his hand for a long moment before he tossed it into the kitchen. He flinched when it cracked loudly against the tile.

Sirius waved his wand and caught the newly made cup once again. He wriggled his eyebrows and smirked. "See?"

Harry giggled. He reached for the glass again, but Hermione intercepted.

"Alright, that's enough of that." She set Harry on his feet again. "Let's have breakfast, shall we?"

Sirius waved his wand and everything Harry had pulled out quickly reassembled itself on the kitchen table. Hermione helped Harry into his booster seat. She poured the both of them cereal before sitting down beside him.

"Do you have plans today?" Sirius tentatively asked.

Hermione looked up and tried to hide her shock. "Uhm… we're low on groceries?" She shrugged. Neither of them had a job, not that they were short on money. Sirius had more than enough money to keep them living comfortably for generations. Even if they didn't have the money, it wasn't like Hermione exactly had any NEWTs to get a job.

"And we need another wand."

Hermione's cheeks turned pink. "Right. You probably want yours back."

He shrugged a shoulder. "It'd be nice." He sounded nonchalant but he hadn't let go of his wand for a second since picking it up again.

She nodded. "We could… Did you want to go with us? Or did you have… plans?" She couldn't even begin to imagine what he might have planned. He'd done nothing but mope for the better part of two weeks. Only the past couple days had showed any sort of improvement in him.

"Well, I wanted to go for a run. I was sort of hoping we could go to the park… all three of us." His eyes darted up to her before going back to his bowl of cereal.

Hermione couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. "Really? That sounds lovely." She turned to Harry and smoothed his wild hair down. "Doesn't that sound nice, sweetie?" Harry's eyes flickered up to her but he didn't say anything, his mouth full of cereal. Hermione turned back to Sirius. "Did you want to go to Diagon Alley first? We can get me a wand and some snacks for the park."

"Alright," he grinned at her and a flash of that sexual charisma she recognized from his older self shone through. Hermione's cheeks turned pink. "I'm going to hop in the shower." He set his spoon down and sent her a wink before disappearing into the bedroom.

Hermione's cheeks remained pink after he'd left. The charm that sparkled off of him this morning was so remnant of the Sirius she once knew and she didn't know how to react. Even after Sirius had cut his hair and shaved his beard, he'd still lacked something. She wasn't sure what the difference was between today and yesterday, but she hoped it would last.

After Sirius showered, Hermione got Harry and herself ready. She was a little worried about taking Harry into Diagon Alley for the first time. Despite living on the Alley in Sirius' little flat, Hermione had only ventured into the muggle world with Harry so far. She didn't want to expose Harry to all the ridiculous fame he'd find in the magical world. His only foray into wizarding society had been Sirius trial, which had ended in tears.

Harry was much more stable now than he'd been then. She was fairly confident he'd handle Diagon Alley well, mostly because he was so fascinated by magic. Nothing made Harry pause in awe or laugh with glee faster than a little spell or magical spark.

An hour later, the three of them were leaving the flat for the first time in weeks - bar any quick trips to the muggle grocer. Harry held Hermione's hand tightly as they headed down the steps and out the door onto the busy street of Diagon Alley.

Both Harry and Hermione paused apprehensively. Neither of them had spent much time in the magical world - not in this era, at least. Sirius was no better off. He'd spent the last year in Azkaban, which had not exactly helped his trust and paranoia. Strangers were daunting to him, to all three of them.

Christmas holidays were long over and the streets weren't as busy with the students back in Hogwarts. There were still a lot more people than any of them were used to. They stood at the side of the street as the people passed by. All three of them were frozen with fear.

Sirius wrapped a comforting arm around Hermione's waist. The two shared a look while Hermione squeezed Harry's hand. Together, the three of them ventured out into the world.

There were stares. The second a person noticed it was Sirius Black, everyone knew. The whispers quickly followed the stares. Then suddenly, they noticed Harry Potter. There was a lull in the whispers as everyone seemed to come to a halt. Harry clung to Hermione's cloak, not oblivious to everyone's intense stares.

Hermione shot Sirius a worried look before she picked Harry up and placed him on her hip. The toddler immediately snuggled into her side, his face buried in her neck under a waterfall of curls. Sirius' eyes narrowed and a snarl curled his lips. People ducked their heads and scurried out of their way.

"Come on," he growled and they kept walking. Harry winced and tightened his arms around Hermione. Sirius cast a guilty look towards his godson. He cleared his throat and said in a nicer tone, "Ollivander's is just up the way. You'll love it, Har," he added with a smile. "You'll get your first wand there when you're eleven. Then you can do magic of your own."

Harry's face appeared, eyes wide. "Really?"

Hermione gently touched his head. "When you go to Hogwarts. You can't practice magic out of school until you're of age."

Sirius smirked. "There are ways around that."

She shot him a look. "But we do not break the rules _or the law_. Nor are we encouraging such behaviour."

Sirius raised his eyebrows, obviously hiding a smile as he looked away. Hermione narrowed her eyes. They reached Ollivander's before she could comment further. He jumped forward and opened the door with a deep bow that would have been gentlemanly if he hadn't of overdone it. Harry giggled.

Hermione's search for her wand wasn't as taxing as she thought it'd be. She also didn't receive her original wand. Hermione briefly wondered if it had even been made yet. She twirled the dark walnut wand, ten inches, and dragon heartstring. It had stars etched into the handle. Hermione rather loved it.

A bright light shone from down one of the dark aisles lined with boxes of wands. Someone cried out and a clatter followed. Sirius, Hermione, and Ollivander all swung their heads around to the source of the noise.

"Harry?" Hermione called. She raced down the aisle, coming to a sudden stop when she found Harry. He was standing before an opened wand box. Innocently laying on the floor was Harry Potter's holly and phoenix feather wand. "Sweetheart?"

Harry looked up at her with sad green eyes. "'m sorry."

Sirius crouched down beside Hermione and gave Harry a winning smile. "It's alright, buddy. You were just playin' about. Did you find a wand that liked you?"

Harry pointed at the wand and whispered, "_Magic_."

"Curious," Ollivander whispered from the other side of Hermione. The witch nearly jumped at the sound of his voice. "Very curious."

Sirius looked up at the old wizard. "Ol'?"

Ollivander kept his intense stare on the little boy. He slowly bent down and picked up the holly wand. "This," he explained, "is a very special wand. It has the feather of an important phoenix. A phoenix that only ever gave another feather before, in the wand of the most powerful and terrifying wizard. The same wizard who gave you that scar," he pointed a gnarled finger at Harry's forehead.

The little boy's eyes widened and he stumbled back a step.

"What?" Sirius jumped to his feet. He glared at Ollivander furiously, as if this fact was entirely the older wizard's fault. "Why on earth would you keep a wand like that?"

Ollivander appeared unperturbed by Sirius' outburst. "It was not a wand I had ever intended to let someone try. It seems that fate has other plans." He raised his heavy brows towards Harry. "If I am not mistaken, the wand chose you, Harry Potter."

Sirius face showed nothing but disgust. He pointed a finger at the wand. "I will not have that thing in my home. That is _not_ Harry's wand." He turned to the silent and startled Hermione. "Right?" When she didn't respond, he repeated himself, "Right?"

She swallowed audibly. "Just buy the wand, Sirius," Hermione whispered. Her eyes flickered to him, catching his look of betrayal. "We'll discuss it later." She bent down and picked Harry up. "Let's go get ice cream, yes?" she cooed to Harry in a sweet voice.

Sirius stared after his wife and godson. He could feel his wonderful mood slipping through his fingers. With a dark glare towards the shopkeeper, he bought the wands and shoved Harry's into his coat pocket. Harry would never use this wand, not if he had any say in it.

\/

The park was a lovely idea. Despite the bump in the road they had at Ollivander's, their day was not spoiled. Hermione had taken Sirius' hand and apparated them to a lovely muggle park she knew. Just like that, Sirius' mood had skyrocketed again.

He'd walked down a path of trees and flowers and came running back out as Padfoot. Harry had jumped to his feet and chased the dog around the park. Smiling to herself, Hermione laid out a picnic blanket under a tree. She'd transfigured a shopping bag into a basket and they'd loaded it up with snacks and sandwich fixings.

Hermione sat on the blanket and put together a few sandwiches. A small heating charming kept it from being uncomfortable. The weather had warmed enough that most of the snow had melted. It was still chilly outside, but the scent of spring could still be found in the air.

Harry and Padfoot were running around together on the playground. Other children had gathered to pet and play with the big, friendly dog. She couldn't help but smile. Sirius had certainly woken up on the right side of the bed today. Her cheeks turned pink and a devious little smirk spread across her lips. Waking up with him pressed so snuggly against her back had been wonderful. She missed waking up next to him. Snuggling next to Harry every night was certainly not the same thing.

"Oh, food!" Sirius exclaimed, having transformed back behind a tree. He collapsed next to her, out of breath. "Harry, food!" he called to the little boy. Harry looked over and away again. He was playing with the other children.

"Leave him," Hermione suggested. "He's never around other kids."

Sirius opened one of the water bottles and took long gulps. "He looks like he's doing well."

"He looks happy," she replied with a small smile. They watched Harry laugh and run up the stairs of the playground with another child.

"Can we talk about it now?" Sirius asked quietly.

Hermione looked down at the sandwich in her hand. "What do you want to know?"

"Is that actually Harry's wand?"

She sighed and looked up at him. "In my time, yes." Sirius swallowed visibly. He looked down. "As far as I know, Harry didn't really care. It was still his wand."

"But the phoenix feather?"

"Do you know what phoenix gave it?" Sirius' brows furrowed at her question. "Albus Dumbledore's." His eyes widened. "When we were in second year, Fawkes saved Harry's life." She waved her hand at the alarmed expression on her husband's face. "It's a long story. We can talk about it another day. But the point is, that feather in his wand isn't just bad. I don't like nor do I trust Dumbledore, _especially_ after everything that's happened recently-"

"-Preaching to the bleeding choir-"

"-But phoenix's are good. They're pure. Just because Voldemort allowed himself to become corrupted doesn't mean Harry will. Look at him," she nodded towards Harry. "Look at that sweet little boy. He's an angel. And when I met him when I was eleven years old he was just as sweet and wonderful. That's not going to change."

Sirius tried not to glare. "That's not what I'm worried about. There's more to this than you know."

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean the prophecy?"

His eyes widened. "How do you…?"

Hermione took his water bottle for a long drink. "We broke into the Department of Mysteries. Harry found the prophecy."

Sirius was silent for a long moment. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting that. Hermione took a bite of her sandwich as she studied him. He had half his hair pulled up into a bun and a light dusting of stubble across his cheeks and chin. The dark circles under his eyes weren't as prominent as they had been in the last few weeks. She thought her own dark circles weren't as bad today either.

Finally, Sirius looked up at his wife again. He had an amused little smirk on his face. "I thought we weren't breaking the rules or the laws?"

She looked away as she smiled. "You're only breaking the rules if you get caught."

Sirius leaned forward. "And the law?"

"And the law," Hermione added, still smiling.

He placed a hand behind her back and leaned towards her. His lips grazed her shoulder. Even through the material of her jacket and sweater beneath, heat suffused her skin. She shivered and he smiled against the woolen fabric.

Harry came racing back to them with a bright smile on his face. "'Mione! 'Mione!" He rushed into her arms and hugged her tightly. "'Mione play!"

Hermione chuckled. "How about some lunch?" She turned him around in her lap and passed him a sandwich. He happily munched away. "You looked like you were having fun." Harry nodded. "Did you make some new friends?" He shrugged.

Sirius leaned forward and caught Harry's eye. "It's nice making new friends."

Harry turned so he could face the both of them better. He smiled up at Hermione. "'Mione my friend." He snuggled into her chest.

Hermione wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his head. "That's right, sweetie." A sad smile stretched her lips. "Your best friend."

Sirius saved her before she could descend into sad thoughts. "Do you think we could stop by St. Mungo's?"

Her head snapped towards him. "Are you okay?" she asked, instantly alarmed.

"I'm fine. I wanted to… see my dad."

Hermione eyed him like he was some sort of alien species. "Your _dad_?"

"I owled his attending healer," he explained slowly, watching her warily. He wasn't sure how to take her surprised tone of voice and expression. "He's still there. Would you… would you like to meet him?" He figured they'd never met. His father had been sick since he was in school. As much as it pained Sirius to think it, he doubted that his father would have been alive when they got married.

She looked away. "I… is that such a good idea? I mean… I am a muggleborn."

Sirius shrugged. "Dad's not as uptight as Walburga." She didn't look convinced. He smiled charmingly. "Trust me."

"Of course," she replied immediately.

The way she didn't even hesitate left him breathless. His heart stuttered in his chest. His friends had always had unwavering faith in him. At one point, his little brother had also had that faith. Not women. Not even Lily, who had been the only girl to get passed his douchebag exterior. And here was this girl who he'd only ever shown the less likable side of himself and she _trusted_ him. He wondered what he had done in her time to make her trust him like that.

"Could you tell me about it?" he asked without thinking.

"About what?"

"Me. You. Us." Hermione's eyes turned wide. "Not now, but someday."

She nodded slowly. "Sure." She busied herself with fussing over Harry and cleaning up their lunch. "St. Mungo's?"

"Whenever you're ready."

They apparated to the wizarding hospital not long later. Hermione sat with Harry in the waiting area while Sirius figured out where to go and who to talk to. She had him in her lap and they were looking through one of the children's books in the waiting room.

"Here, and if you touch this one… what sound does it make?"

"Meow!" Harry answered.

"Does it?" Hermione laughed. "The cow goes 'meow?'" Harry nodded. "How about you touch the cow, what does it say?"

He pressed his finger to magical children's book. The cow meowed. He turned his head and smiled at Hermione. If she didn't know any better, she'd say the two-year-old looked rather smug. Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Did you do that?"

He shrugged.

She tickled his tummy with her finger. "Did you do magic?"

Harry giggled. "No…" he denied, dragging out the word.

"I don't believe you," she responded with a smile. Two was fairly young for accidental magic and was it really accidental magic if he'd done it on purpose? "Have you done that before? Make things happen?" Harry shrugged. "Can you make anything else go 'meow?'"

"Meow!" he exclaimed with a happy smile.

Hermione laughed. She tickled him again and he giggled.

"Alright," Sirius announced as he made his way back to them. "It took me forever, but I've figured out where he is. Don't know why it was so difficult, everyone kept givin' me the roundabout." He smiled broadly at them. "Ready?"

Hermione nodded. "Sure. Lead the way." She stood, bringing Harry to her hip. They followed Sirius down the way and up the magical lift to the third floor - for patients with extended stays. "How long has he been here?" she asked as they stepped out of the lift.

"Years," Sirius responded with a sigh. "He's been sick since I was a kid. But he got real bad when I was going into fifth. He was admitted into the hospital that summer."

She turned her head to him and drew her brows together. "After you ran away?"

He shot her a surprised look. "Before. Mum - _Walburga_ went nuts on me after. She'd always been a bi-"

Hermione cleared her throat and glared.

"-Big meanie." She smiled. "But she was relentless after dad was gone." He glanced towards Harry on her hip and winced. The fact that Harry had been in his own abusive home pained Sirius more than he was willing to admit. He looked away.

Hermione wrapped her fingers around his arm. "I'm sorry."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He winked.

When they reached the door to Orion Black's room, he froze. Her hand on his arm squeezed gently. He took a calming breath before opening the door. Inside the room lay the sleeping form of Orion Arcturus Black.

Hermione recoiled the second she got a good look. He was old, mucher older than she'd ever seen her Sirius but… Merlin, they looked just alike. She knew, without a doubt, this is what her husband would look like when they were old and grey.

"Hermione?" She jumped and turned to Sirius. "What's wrong?"

"He's…" She shook her head. "Sorry… He looks… You two are just very similar."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. He looked at his dad. They shared the same nose, jawline, and even the same lips. He knew if his father opened his eyes, he'd find his own steely grey ones staring back. "I suppose." A thought occurred to him and he looked up. "You mean like… in the… _future_?" he whispered the last word.

Hermione set Harry down and licked her lips. "You weren't as old, obviously. But… yes." She smirked at him. "You age well."

Sirius' shoulders drew back and he grinned smugly. Hermione rolled her eyes at his response. She sat down and Harry climbed into her lap. Sirius pulled another chair forward and joined them. He was at a loss for what to do now.

Hermione brought out a snack of soft crackers from her purse and handed it to Harry. She hugged the toddler close and turned to her husband. "They say that people can hear you speak, even when you're asleep."

Sirius made a face. "Bit odd to have a conversation with someone and then they wake up halfway through."

"Bit creepy to just watch a man sleep."

Sirius nodded his head once in agreement. He glanced at Hermione before awkwardly shuffling to the edge of his chair. He cleared his throat. "Uhm… hi, dad. Been a long time. I've been… away." He looked down at his hands. He cleared his throat again and looked up. "Like you to meet a couple people. This is Harry, Jamie's kid. They look just alike, it's rather creepy.

"And this little witch here is Hermione." They shared a smile and then Sirius said, "She's my child bride."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Sirius!" she hissed.

He laughed. "It's a joke."

"You really need to drop it. What will he think?"

"That I picked a pretty one." He winked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Harry. They stayed for a little while longer before Harry grew sleepy. "I have to get him home for his nap." Sirius nodded and moved to stand. "No, stay. I'll use the floo at the visitors entrance."

"Are you sure?"

She smiled sweetly. "Enjoy your time with your father. Just, please be home before dinner. I need to go get groceries still."

Sirius nodded. "Will do. Thanks… thanks for today. I had fun."

Hermione stared into his grey eyes. Heat spread through her chest like a sip of warm tea. "So did I. Maybe we can do something tomorrow?"

His eyes danced over the freckles on her face and the perfect curve of her lips. "I'd like that."

After a moment of consideration, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "See you at home."

Sirius watched her leave the room with a sleepy toddler cuddled close to her chest. He couldn't help but smile widely. He turned back to his dad and laughed. "Did you see that? She kissed me. Ha! Still got it." He slouched back and raised his feet to rest on the end of his father's bed.

Two hours later and Orion still had not awoken. Sirius was beginning to get worried. His father had been diagnosed with a rare magical malady when Sirius was fourteen. It was called Magica Mori. From what Sirius knew of the illness, his father shouldn't be asleep for so long. He picked up the clipboard at the end of his father's bed. He flicked through the information there.

Orion wasn't in a coma. He did wake up from time to time, but it was infrequent and becoming even more so as time wore on. He flagged down a nurse, but just as before, no one wanted to talk to him. Sirius glared at the back of the fourth healer to have walked away without answers. He'd had to bully Orion's attending healer into even giving him an update on his father's condition. Something was wrong.

\/

Hermione sat on the couch with her arms crossed. She glanced at the clock again and huffed. It was nearly ten o'clock at night. Sirius hadn't made it home in time for her to get groceries and Hermione had to cobble together a dinner from what they had in the flat. Harry had been given a bath and put down to sleep after no less than three bedtime stories. Sirius hadn't come home at all.

The front door opened. Sirius came in with his hands full of bags from what looked like Flourish and Blotts. Hermione was on her feet in an instant. "Where have you been?" she tried not to sound as irritated she felt.

"Library. Then I went to the store." He set the bags on the table and began pulling out stack after stack of books.

"And you couldn't have sent an owl?"

"To who?" He waved his wand to vanish the shopping bags. Hermione's face flushed red with rage. She could feel her curls tightening as her anger bubbled and boiled beneath her skin. "Look at this," Sirius continued, completely missing his wife's anger. He flipped open one of the books he'd bought. "Magica Mori doesn't result in excessive fatigue. It's something else. Something else is causing that."

Hermione's brows drew together. Despite her rage, she was intrigued. "It could be his medicine," she reasoned, her heart not exactly in it.

"No. I already checked that." He pulled a chair out and sat down at the kitchen table. And just like that, it was like Hermione didn't exist again.

The young witch looked heaven ward with a sigh. "Harry's in bed." No response. "I'm turning in too."

"Night."

Hermione nodded her head. "Guess we won't be going to the park tomorrow," she whispered. Sirius didn't even hear her. Rolling her eyes and biting back tears, Hermione went to bed.

* * *

Yikes. One step forward, two steps back. There's maybe another chapter of Sirius being hot and cold before things get better for them. For those of you wondering about what's up with Sirius, it will be explained more in depth in the next chapter.

For those of you waiting on _As It Should Be_, I've made a lot of progress and I should start posting again by September (if not sooner).

Thanks for reading! xx


	9. Chapter Nine

_Chapter Nine_

_\- March 1983 -_

Sirius spent three days camped out at the kitchen table doing research. He only ever packed it away for mealtimes and minutes later he'd be back at it. Hermione tried not to be upset. She knew he was researching what was going on with his father. Everyone coped with things differently and if this helped him, then she wasn't going to argue.

Her understanding of the situation didn't stop her from feeling hurt and abandoned. She reasoned that she should probably stop projecting Sirius' older self on this version of him. It was only going to lead her to heartbreak.

Harry didn't really understand. She tried to keep him occupied, but he kept asking when they could play with Padfoot again. It broke her heart to see his sad little face every time she said 'maybe another day.' If Sirius made that boy sad one more time, she was going to hex him.

"Hermione. Hermione, wake up."

The witch groaned and rolled onto her back. She glared at the familiar figure standing over her. "Sirius?"

"Come on, I need your help." Before she could protest, he had pulled on her arm and dragged her halfway out of bed.

"Now?" She glanced over her shoulder and noted that Harry was still fast asleep. Thank Merlin for small mercies. Sirius manhandled her out of bed and into the living room.

He sat her down on the couch beside him. Hermione blinked in the brightness of the room. "I've reached a wall, I need your help." His books had been moved to the living room and were spread across the coffee table.

She sighed. Hearing the tone in his voice, she knew she wasn't getting back to sleep until she answered his questions. "How can I help?"

He flashed her a quick smile. "Okay, think back to your time. Was there ever a time when I was reading these sorts of books? Researching my father's illness? Did I mention anything about it?"

Hermione sent him a sad look. "Sirius… you've never mentioned your father. I didn't even know he was still alive in this time. I'm sorry."

Sirius looked a little sad to hear that, but he also wasn't surprised. "Books? Was I - he - researching?"

She shrugged. "He spent some time in the library, I guess." Sirius had spent a great deal of his time either getting drunk or trying to stay sober. He hadn't really pulled himself together until his near death in the Department of Mysteries.

"And you?"

Hermione looked up at Sirius. She'd never felt so alone. "Yes," she whispered, scared that if she spoke any louder that she'd cry, "I've been known to spend some time in the library."

He leaned forward excitedly. "Okay, and these books? Did you see them at all?"

Hermione turned back to the piles of books across the coffee table. She sighed. Sirius was expecting an answer. She focused on each of the titles as she cast her mind back. Hermione was honestly surprised to say, "The titles sound familiar." Sirius nearly vibrated with excitement.

Hermione closed her eyes as she tried to remember. It was just after fourth year. Hermione had only just arrived at Grimmauld Place the day before. It had taken everything in her not to storm the ancient library first thing, but she had managed to resist. When she'd finally entered on her second day there, she'd found Sirius sitting at a desk piled with books. He'd been asleep and haggard looking despite the fact he was no longer living on the run.

"Seventh year," Hermione whispered as her mind finally caught the difference between her current Sirius' pile of books and the one from the future. She opened her eyes. "Seventh year Potions."

"What about it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But that book was on my… on future Sirius' desk. That's all I know." Sirius jumped to his feet. He went over to his bookcase and plucked the textbook from the shelf. A second later, he was settled on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. He opened up the text and immediately began reading.

Hermione watched him for a long moment before sighing softly. She debated going back to bed when the door opened. Harry appeared, rubbing his eyes and a pout on his lips. Hermione held her hand out to him. He stumbled towards her before crawling into her lap. The two of them curled up together on the couch while Sirius did his research.

It would be a long night.

\/

"Harry, darling, please clean up your crayons."

"No!" he shouted. He threw a handful of crayons across the kitchen.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Harry," she admonished. "That's not how we treat our things."

"No!" he screamed again. He picked up more crayons and threw them again. Hermione was nonplussed. It was the first time Harry had done anything that could be construed as a tantrum. He was normally far too skittish to ever push her.

She glanced towards the living room, but Sirius had disappeared sometime before sunrise. Hermione raised her wand and vanished all the crayons. "That's enough." Harry's face turned red. "I think it's time for a nap."

"No! No, no, no, no!"

The pots and pans rattled with the toddler's barely restrained magic.

Hermione glanced towards the kitchen warily. Neither of them had gotten much sleep last night. Even after they'd moved back to the bedroom, Harry had tossed and turned until the sun rose. It wasn't even lunch yet and she knew he was tired. Nap time was definitely coming early today.

She picked the crying, angry toddler up. He continued to scream and cry as she carried him into the bedroom. A crash sounded in the kitchen and Hermione winced.

There was a rocking chair in one corner of the room that she'd transfigured a few weeks ago when he'd had a nightmare. Hermione went to the chair and cuddled Harry close. She shushed loudly in his ear as she slowly rubbed circles on his back.

It took a long while, but eventually Harry settled down. She wasn't sure if what she'd done had helped at all or if the poor baby had simply cried himself to sleep. Either way, she tucked him into bed and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

She quietly closed the door behind herself before setting the flat to rights. Hermione waved her new wand around. Sirius' books flew to the bookcases. The dishes went to washing. She fixed the fallen pans back into their proper place. With magic, Hermione had the flat cleaned in minutes.

She took a moment to herself, simply standing there. The flat was quiet. Harry was asleep. Sirius was… somewhere. Hermione allowed herself a minute of self pity. It was lonely in this new time. She missed her friends and family more and more everyday.

With a sigh, she turned to the bookcase and picked out one that never failed to lift her spirits. _Hogwarts: A History_ was always the ticket when she was feeling sad. She'd picked up a copy on her first and only trip to Diagon Alley before she'd gone to get Harry.

Curled into the corner of the couch with a cup of tea, Hermione immersed herself in the story of her favourite school.

A knock came at the door.

Hermione looked up. She wasn't sure how much later it was, but since Harry hadn't woken from his nap yet, she figured not that long. She glanced at the clock before heading to the door. Her eyes widened when she saw who was on the other side.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

The old wizard smiled tightly. "Mrs. Black. Might I come in?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "No. What do you want?"

Dumbledore sighed as if disappointed in her actions. "This is perhaps a conversation better had inside," he suggested.

Hermione crossed her arms and cocked her hip to the side. She refused to move.

The headmaster's lips pressed into a thin line. "I'm here for Harry."

"Excuse me?"

"He must be taken back to the Dursley's home. These are matters above your head and-"

"-You mean the blood wards?" Dumbledore's eyes widened. Hermione smirked. "Oh, professor. If you'd taken even a moment to question exactly who I was when you had me in your office all those months ago, I'm positive you would've had me tossed in Azkaban."

His clear blue eyes hardened.

"I know exactly what you're trying to do," she continued, "but it's not happening. Sirius has custody of Harry, not you. You're just the headmaster of a school he won't be attending for years to come."

"I am still Chief Warlock," he claimed as he drew his shoulders back.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, clearly unimpressed. "That doesn't make you above kidnapping. But go ahead and take the problem to the Wizengamot, if you like. I'm sure all those stuffy old men will be very eager to go head to head with Sirius Black after the papers have only just stopped dragging them through the mud for _convicting an innocent man_."

"And without trial," another voice put in.

Both Dumbledore and Hermione turned to see Sirius glaring at his old headmaster. His eyes were cold and he was nearly vibrating with rage as he said, "I've not charged you for what you did that day, nor have I asked for a proper investigation into it. But I think we both know what we'd find if I did." Sirius took a threatening step forward. "If you want to keep yourself as headmaster and Chief Warlock, then keep yourself away from my godson. And get your arse off my bloody doorstep."

Dumbledore slowly looked back and forth between the two. He nodded once. He turned to leave, but paused. Some things about Albus Dumbledore never changed and having the last word was certainly one of those things. "The situation is more complicated than either of you can even begin to understand. I hope you'll come to your senses before it's too late." Before either of them could respond, the headmaster had left.

Sirius growled and followed Hermione into the flat. "What a bloody prick."

"Why haven't you filed against him?" she immediately questioned. They needed Dumbledore off their back. Taking his position in the Wizengamot away would lessen his ability to take Harry away from them.

"Blackmail is more powerful," he explained flippantly. He went into the kitchen and put on the kettle. "Dumbledore stopped Grindelwald, people won't just forget that. It's better to have a powerful man in my pocket than an angry one at my back."

Hermione stared at Sirius like she'd never seen him before. "That's - that's very Slytherin of you."

He nodded once, grudgingly admitting the fact to be true. "Well, I didn't get placed in Gryffindor because I _didn't_ have Slytherin qualities." Hermione wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. He smiled suddenly. "I figured it out. It's been taken care of."

"What has?"

"My father. He's going to be okay!"

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "You cured his disease?"

"He was never sick in the first place!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly.

"I - what?"

"My bitch of a mother was poisoning him," he explained and Hermione was too shocked to complain about his swearing. "Paid off the healers, the nurses. Everyone. I found it in the Potions textbook. It's this potion for allergy attacks, but if you use it when you aren't having one, it's got these nasty side effects. Side effects that appear to be Magica Mori. Your magic becomes unstable, then slowly it begins to dissipate if there's prolonged use. Then the usual follows that always does when someone starts to lose their magic. Ageing faster, weakness, loss of memory. The only difference is-"

"-Lethargicness," Hermione finished for him. That was brilliant - horrible and disgusting, but brilliant.

"Exactly."

"Everyone knew?" she questioned, aghast.

"Not everyone, but most on his floor." He took the kettle off as it began to whistle and poured them a cup of tea each. "They'd been keepin' it quiet for years. I took it to Kings and he and Moody sussed it all out. Dad's got a new healer who I personally vetted and it's still early, but they think he's going to make a full recovery."

"Sirius, that's wonderful!"

"Right?" He couldn't stop smiling. "Merlin, it's going to be fantastic. I thought I'd lost him ages ago."

"Congratulations," she said, genuine in her affections. "I'm glad everything's been sorted."

"Well, not everything." Hermione felt the little bubble of happiness in her chest pop. "I want to see him when he wakes up. I've got to stay on top of his progress and I'm damn well keeping an eye on all the staff. And there's my mother to worry about. They've arrested her, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do when it all comes to trial." His eyes widened and he shook his head. "Bloody hell, best not to think about it." He took a sip of his tea and looked around the flat. "Is Harry up? I've a present for him. I…" Hermione's brows were furrowed and her arms were crossed over her chest. "What's wrong?

"Sirius…" she sighed with a shake of her head. "You can't just do this."

"Do what?" he asked and it took everything in him not to immediately jump to the defensive.

"Be here and then not here a second later. You can't just bounce in and out whenever you like. I understand this was important and I get it and I'm so happy everything's sorting itself out now, but… I need to know if I… He's your godson. He's in your custody, not mine. I won't pretend to know you, Sirius. You're not… you're not the same man I married." She looked away when she said this. Sirius felt like she might as well have punched him in the gut. "And you don't know me at all. But I need to know now if I'm… if I'm going to be doing this on my own." She met his gaze once more as she said those final words. Sirius' heart dropped.

He set his tea back on the counter. "No. Hermione, _no_." He wrapped his fingers around her upper arms, but whatever pleasant feelings he was expecting from their touch wasn't there. She was really, truly furious with him. Sirius took a deep breath and licked his lips."I'm here. This just… you understand I needed to get this done. It was important. It was life or death."

She nodded and shrugged. "You can't just shove us in a corner every time something important pops up. Let me know. Tell me you need to focus on something and we can work it out. But you can't just _disappear_." She raised her eyebrows. "James and Lily made you his godfather, Sirius. They wanted you to raise him. Not some random seventeen-year-old girl they don't know. I'm sure they'd be upset with this."

Sirius grinned despite himself. "Doubt it, Lily would love you." It was true too. Lily would have been over the moon to hear that someone was there to keep him in check. James was probably giggling like a little school boy over his situation - his wife from the future.

"Sirius…" she sighed.

He let out a long breath. "I'm sorry," he forced himself to say, not because he didn't mean it, but because it wasn't something he often said. "I get it. I've been… absent. I'll work on it. Feel free to tell me to get my head out of my arse, if you need to." His lips quirked up into a joking grin.

His words had the opposite effect. Hermione's face immediately closed off. "I'm already taking care of one child." Sirius winced. "You're a grown man, you need to do that yourself."

"I'm really rubbish at it though."

She pushed him away. "Well, I can't do it all myself!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a tight hug. "I'm so sorry," he whispered into the curls at the top of her head.

Hermione stood there, her arms limp at her sides while he hugged her close to his chest. She felt like crying. She was married to a man she didn't even really know. She was raising a child without any clue if she was doing it right. Everything had been turned upside down.

The warmth and tingles of their magical bond flared beneath her skin. Her magical core hummed and sang inside her chest, reminding her that she wasn't alone. She wrapped her arms around Sirius' waist and took a deep breath. She felt his own magic reach out and spark along her own.

"I'll be better," Sirius whispered. "I promise. Trust me."

Hermione didn't respond. Sirius' arms tightened around her.

"'Mione?" Hermione pulled away and quickly wiped at her cheeks. Once she was sure she was tear free, she turned to Harry with a bright smile. "Cookie?"

"Hungry, are you?" she asked with a smile. He nodded. "Feeling better after you nap?" He nodded again.

"Is he sick?" Sirius quietly asked with worry.

Hermione shook her head and mouthed the word, "Tantrum." Sirius' eyes widened. He couldn't even imagine what _that_ would be like given Harry couldn't handle screaming or crying from another person. "How about I make us some lunch, yes?"

"Okay." Sirius took a step towards Harry and crouched down so that they were eyelevel. "Hey, buddy. I got you something."

Harry's eyes widened. "Me?"

"Yeah…" He glanced towards Hermione who was watching them curiously. "You know how I can turn into Padfoot?" Harry nodded. "Well, your daddy used to be able to turn into an animal too. Do you remember?" He shook his head. "Yeah, I didn't think so. You didn't get to see it as often. Prongs wasn't housetrained like me." Sirius winked.

Hermione snorted and muttered, "You're housetrained?"

He raised his eyebrows at her. She quickly busied herself with making lunch. Sirius shook his head and turned back to Harry. He pulled something from his pocket and tapped it with his wand. The object magically grew. Harry gasped. It was a stuffed toy.

"See," Sirius explained, "this is a stag." He paused and cocked his head to the side. "Or about as close as I could find. Your daddy could turn into an animal just like this. We called him 'Prongs.'"

"Prongs?" Harry reached out and took the offered plushie. He played with one of its antlers.

"And you know what Prongs does?" Harry shook his head. "He fights the bad dreams." Sirius smiled softly at his godson. "He'll always keep you safe." Harry smiled and hugged the toy to his chest. "Do you like it?"

Harry nodded.

Hermione smiled at the two of them. "What do we say, Harry?"

He pressed his face into the neck of the toy. "Thank you," he mumbled.

"You're very welcome," Sirius responded. He nodded to the couch. "Why don't you go watch some _Doctor Who_ while Hermione and I make lunch?" Harry toddled off to the couch and the tele flicked on a moment later.

"That was really sweet of you." Sirius smiled awkwardly. "Doesn't make up for everything."

He sighed. "Let me help with lunch."

Hermione snorted. "You can't cook." She put a pot of hot water up to boil. "You don't even know what raw chicken looks like."

His arms crossed over his chest. "And how would you know that?"

She smirked at him over her shoulder. "On our… I made dinner for us after we got married." She laughed and turned back to the stove. "You tried to throw out the raw chicken breast. It was the first and last time I ever tried to get you to cook."

Sirius gave her a funny look that she didn't see with her back turned to him. "You made dinner on our wedding day?"

She paused, her hand on a jar of pasta sauce. "We didn't exactly have a big to do. We just signed the papers and then went to the ministry."

"Oh…" He leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms.

She set the jar on the counter and turned to him with a kind smile. "Sirius, go join Harry."

"I want to help," he replied in a pleading tone of voice.

They shared a long look. She sighed. "Not with the cooking. Literally anything but the cooking." He chuckled under his breath. She crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the counter. "It's fine, Sirius. We… we'll figure it out."

"But we're good?" he needed to clarify.

She shrugged. "Just don't be a git."

His eyes widened comically. "Tall order there, sweetheart." His gruff voice had never sounded so similar to his older self as he said the term of endearment. Hermione couldn't help but smile. They were still a right mess, but she thought they might just be able to figure it out eventually.

* * *

Not an overly long chapter, but lot's more to come. Most of you assumed the side-plot with Orion and Walburga. Not gonna lie, that side-plot came out of nowhere, it was not originally planned and wow has it changed this story a lot!

Thanks for reading! xx


	10. Chapter Ten

_Chapter Ten_

_\- March 1983 -_

The cupboard slammed shut.

Hermione jumped. She spun around and narrowed her eyes at Sirius. "Can you please watch your volume? I just put Harry down for a nap." He'd been a grouch all morning. His moods would swing between furious and ecstatic at a moments notice. In the days following their heart to heart, Sirius had waffled between trying his hardest to help out and distant.

"You think I don't know that?" he snapped. "It's a big fuckin' production to get him down and my presence doesn't help."

Hermione closed her eyes. "Sirius…" she sighed. She tried to be understanding. The Sirius in her time had suffered from similar mood swings when he'd first been confined to Grimmauld Place.

"I can't do anything," he continued. The statement seemed to echo between them. He couldn't cook, he couldn't help with Harry who only trusted her, and he couldn't keep the constant cold from seeping in and freezing him from the inside out. The cold had set in for him late the night before last. The shaking had started yesterday afternoon. At this point, Sirius couldn't even think beyond the darkness filling his mind.

Hermione bit her lip. "What can I do? Please tell me." He was trying. She knew he was. But whatever lasting effects there were from the dementors, Hermione didn't know the cure.

Sirius shook his head. His brows drew together and his mouth pinched in an expression Hermione knew meant he was getting angry. At a loss for anything else to do, she wrapped her arms around his waist. Sirius' entire body tensed.

She pressed her face into his chest and squeezed her arms tight. She pushed as much warmth and love through their bond as she could. Sirius drew in a ragged breath. The heat rushed through his frozen veins like a burning inferno.

His fingers shook for a completely different reason when he curled them around her shoulders. He pushed her back. Sirius breathed heavily into the ensuing silence. The coldness had receded the way it always did when she touched him. He loved it just as much as he resented it. He didn't want to be dependent on her touch. Sirius didn't want to be dependent on anyone.

"I'm going for a walk." He turned away and grabbed his leather jacket.

"Did it help?" He made his way to the door. "Sirius, wait," she called as she grabbed his hand. He stopped, the door already open and his body poised to escape. "Will you be back for dinner?"

Sirius stared at the floor. The warmth was rushing through his body again and he revelled in it.

"Please come back," she whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. "I know this is hard… I wish I could do more."

He didn't move. His body still faced the door, her hand in his holding him there."Did he do it? Did he get past this?"

"Yes," Hermione breathed.

Sirius let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The relief he felt at that single confirmation was immense. "How?" he asked weakly.

She rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand. "You know that muggle phrase, 'fake it until you make it?'" She shrugged. "He faked it."

Sirius looked over his shoulder at her, his face disbelieving. "And that worked?"

"One day, he realized he wasn't pretending anymore," she explained softly.

"How far away is 'one day?'"

She hugged his arm close. "Closer than you think." They stood together in silence. Sirius soaked up every bit of warmth and magic he could while it lasted. Eventually, Hermione stepped back. "Dinner?"

He nodded. "I'll be here." He paused for a long moment before stepping forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Thanks." He left before her touch dragged him back in. It was only a temporary fix. He needed to actually repair the problem. Applying a bandage to a knife wound wasn't about to stem the blood flow.

Sirius headed down the stairs to the main floor. He passed through the building's entrance and ran straight into another person. His nose bumped against the taller man's collarbone. Sirius jumped back and his eyes widened.

"Moony!"

Remus smiled, tears in his eyes. "_Padfoot_," he breathed. They stood frozen for a moment. Remus pulled his best friend into his arms. He squeezed Sirius so tightly, the animagus wheezed for air. He didn't complain. Sirius closed his eyes and revelled in the comfort that Remus' wolf brought to the canine in his chest. When the two finally separated, Remus suggested, "Drinks?"

"Oh, hells yes."

They turned together and made their way to the Leaky. It was packed inside and without even a word, they passed through to Muggle London. There was a pub just down the street that the Marauders had favoured years ago.

"Merlin," Sirius whispered when he stepped into the classic style English pub. "This takes me back." Remus clapped a hand to his back and led him to a booth. They each slid in on either side. Sirius' eyes trailed over his haggard looking friend. There were heavy lines on his face and dark circles under his eyes. The moon had just passed, but regardless, Moony had never looked so old. "You look like shit, mate."

"You're not exactly anything to get excited about yourself, Pads," his friend responded drly. He eyed Sirius' own dark circles and still underweight form with a raised eyebrow.

Sirius smirked. "Please, we both know you want all this." He gestured down his body with a smirk.

"You've found me out," Remus deadpanned,. "I've been dreaming about your cock for years."

"I can come back?" a blushing, embarrassed waitress squeaked out. Sirius burst into laughter while Remus turned red.

The werewolf cleared his throat. "Two pints, please." The waitress fled. Remus leaned forward. "Shut up," he growled. Despite his tone, his lips twitched with a barely repressed smile.

Sirius wiped away an amused tear. "_Fuck_. I haven't laughed like that in ages."

Remus' half smile died away. "I'm sorry. I thought… I didn't believe it. I told Dumbledore, but he -"

"- He knew."

Remus' eyes widened. His mind stuttered to a halt. "He what?"

Sirius turned to survey the bar. The easygoing banter between them was forgotten in light of such serious topics. "He cast the spell for us. He knew it was…" Sirius looked back to his best friend. "I know you love Dumbledore like family, but… I think he wanted me out of the picture. No - I _know_ he did." He sighed and ran a hand through his curly black hair. "He tried to take Harry from us the other day."

Remus, already leaning forward, pushed even further over the table in his shock. "He did _what_?"

"He came when I was out. Tried to knick Harry from Hermione." Sirius snorted and shook his head. "It's actually kind of funny. You'd have better luck stealing gold from a niffler." Sirius ran a hand over his tired face. Remus couldn't tell if the other man was amused or exhausted, probably both.

The waitress appeared again with two pints. "Cheers."

Sirius' hand froze an inch away from the drink. Remus watched him over the rim of his glass. The animagus' brows drew together. He raised his hand as the waitress passed. "Can I get a water? Cheers." Without another word, he slid the glass across the table to his mate.

Remus raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

"The wife would kill me," Sirius joked weakly.

The werewolf raised his other eyebrow to join the first. "I know I was absent during the end of the war," he started, skirting around all the unpleasant thoughts of him having joined Greyback's pack under Dumbledore's orders and Sirius thinking he was a spy for the better part of a year, "but you're not _actually_ married, are you?"

Sirius opened his mouth, and when he said Hermione's famous line, "It's complicated," he visibly winced. He smiled tensely at the waitress when she dropped off his water.

Sirius discreetly waved his wand and cast a privacy ward. They both leaned forward, settling in for a deep discussion.

"She's from the future," Sirius said, giving just the tip of the iceberg. He explained everything Hermione had told him about You-Know-Who and how she knew about the prophecy. He left nothing out, including the fact that she was Harry's classmate and their marriage was, in a way, arranged. He'd also gone into detail about her arrival to the past and what Kingsley had told him about her state when she'd gotten there.

Remus was done the second pint by the time Sirius was finished his tale. "_Attacked_?"

"She has nightmares about it. Harry told me." It had been the strangest interaction of Sirius' life. The little toddler had pulled him down to whisper in his ear about Hermione's dreams while she was busy in the kitchen. He looked so much older than he was at that moment. His eyes had practically screamed at Sirius to do something about it.

"Harry told you?" Remus confirmed, confused.

"She and Harry have the bed. I'm on the couch."

"How gentlemanly of you," Remus responded, obviously amused.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I don't think Harry can sleep on his own. He's got nightmares of his own." He looked down at the table. "We all do. Hermione would never kick him out of bed. I wouldn't ever ask her to either. Fuck. The shit Tuney did to Harry… I don't even know, but the kid is a wreck."

"What do you mean?"

"They… crying. Anger. If either of us so much as looks upset, he thinks… I don't know what he thinks. That's we'll hurt him?" Remus' eyes widened. He reeled back. Sirius shook his head, heartbroken at the very thought. "He's nothing like the baby he was before. He's always so skittish and scared now." Sirius eyes watered. "I feel like I'm failing James and Lily."

Remus shook his head. "You weren't there Sirius. They wouldn't blame you for trying to avenge them." Sirius shot him a look. "Okay," Remus amended, "Lily would. But James would have done the exact same in your position. You're here now."

Sirius snorted in a self deprecating manner. "Fat lot of good that is. Beyond the fact that I'm a fucking wreck, Harry doesn't know me. He doesn't trust me. Hermione does everything. I can't even help out with the bloody cooking."

Remus looked down at the glass in his hands. They were silent for a full minute before he asked, "How bad was it? For Harry?"

When Sirius looked up at the other wizard, his eyes were tortured. "They kept him in a cupboard."

Remus' eyes slammed shut. His fingers curls into tight fists. Sirius eyed his friend warily, more than aware of the destruction Moony could cause when his anger got away from him. Finally, he released a breath he'd been holding. His golden eyes opened and fixed on Sirius. "She got him out," he stated gruffly.

"Yeah."

"Good." Remus waved his hand for another drink, feeling like he needed something much stronger. "She got you out too."

Sirius looked down at the table. "Yeah."

"So, what the hell's wrong?"

Sirius sighed. He couldn't hide anything from his best friends. "I don't even know how to explain it. I just - I'm always so cold. And the colder I am the worse… _everything_ is." He dragged his finger along the condensation on the outside of his glass. "I'm driving Hermione nuts. I can't blame her. It's like - it's like fifth year."

Remus' eyes widened. Sirius had been an emotional wreck after leaving home. His father was in hospital, his mother had crucioed him within an inch of his life, and Voldemort's power had grown so far that he could no longer talk to his brother for fear of endangering the younger Black. It had been the most emotionally trying time of his life. He hadn't thought things could ever be worse. How wrong he was.

"It's not the same," Remus protested. "You're in a good home. YOu've got family who care about you. I'm sorry I wasn't at the trial, or here at all. I'm sorry I couldn't get you out."

"It's fine. I don't blame you."

"I blame myself."

"Fuckin' colour me surprised."

A shocked laughed broke free from the werewolf. Sirius grinned. When the werewolf had collected himself again, he wondered, "Alcohol is considered a depressant. Think that's why the wife banned it?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in consideration. "Dunno. Didn't ask."

Remus nodded once, not all that surprised. "You two talk about anything?"

"If I'm in a good mood."

"So rarely," Remus quipped, thinking back to fifth year. Sirius had hardly ever been in a joking mood. Pranks that year had been decidedly malicious. It'd all come to a head at the end of the year, when he'd almost killed Snape by sending him to the Whomping Willow to be attacked by Moony.

Sirius leaned back in his seat. He shrugged. "It hasn't been easy." The waitress dropped off another pint for the werewolf. "I don't know how to stop the effects of Azkaban. Hermione helps. Our bond," he explained, "it fight off the cold, but it's not solving the root problem. It just keeps coming back."

"This coldness," Remus wondered, "is it physical or emotional?"

"Bit o' both," Sirius replied with a shrug.

"Have you tried occlumency?"

Sirius blinked in shock. He opened his mouth to tell his friend that his occlumency shields were _always_ in place, when he did a mental check.

Remus nodded, knowing exactly what the other wizard had just realized. "It's not a commonly known side effect, but exposure to dementors can dispell occlumency shields. If they didn't, you wouldn't have been affected."

Sirius heart was racing inside his chest. He closed his eyes and mentally searched for the mental protection his father had insisted both his son's learn from an early age. Sirius had been particularly gifted at occlumency and able to keep up the strongest of shields at all times. There had been a particularly terrifying moment in the war when Voldemort himself had tried to get through Sirius' defences - and failed.

When Sirius finally found his shields, he was horrified. They were in tatters. Occlumency defences needed to be maintained. The techniques needed to be frequently practiced. Like any muscle or talent, lack of use would weaken one's abilities.

Sirius quickly decided he didn't have time to work through the broken pieces of his mental defences. He quickly threw up a thin layer to protect his mind for the time being. When he opened his eyes, Remus was watching him as he drank his pint.

Sirius' mouth curled into a massive grin. "Moony, if I wasn't married already, I'd marry you right now."

"Did it help?" he asked, amusement in his voice.

Sirius barked a laugh and shook his head. "Not at all. There's nothing there to work with. I'll have to start from scratch to build new defences but… It might just work." Occlumency helped one control their emotions and created a calm mental state for the user. It was often taught to witches and wizards with severe depression or anxiety. Sirius couldn't stop smiling. He knew it'd work. It'd take time, but it would _work_.

Sirius tapped the table. "Alright, hurry up then. Wife's cooking, let's head home."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "A home cooked meal? The fuck are we still doing here?" He chugged the rest of his beer and slammed the glass back onto the table. The alcohol would do nothing to his system. Werewolves took a bit more than a few pints to get pissed. He knew because it had been James and Sirius' mission to get him drunk in school.

They rose together and Sirius threw some muggle cash onto the table. He glared at Remus when he tried to protest. They made their way back through the Leaky and into the Alley again.

"Hermione won't mind if I join you, will she?"

Sirius snorted. "Doubtful. She's…" He shook his head. "She's like a ray of sunshine. I mean, she could easily nag you to death and she's got no love of Quidditch, nor any appreciation for swearing, but… she's just… _good_. She reminds me a bit of Alice."

Remus nodded with a smile. "So, way too good for you."

"Pretty much." He glanced at the taller man. "Where've you been hiding anyway? You really do look like shit." His clothes were the shabbiest that Sirius had ever seen them and he was far too underweight. Werewolves had to keep a healthy diet. If he wasn't eating enough calories everyday, the transformations would be excruciating.

Remus glared without heat. He knew he looked like a mess. "So you've said. I was out in Ireland for a bit. After everything… I needed time."

"It feels like it just happened," Sirius agreed quietly as he led him through the door to his building and up the stairs.

"Yeah…"

Sirius let them into the flat just in time to see a little boy in nothing but his pants race out of the bedroom. Harry laughed loudly as he dashed towards the couch. He clearly hadn't noticed the two wizards standing in the doorway, beyond amused.

"Harry!" Hermione laughed as she chased after him. She froze when she spotted Remus and Sirius standing there. "Professor!" Their eyebrows shot up. "I mean… Remus. Hello." She was blushing madly as the two men exchanged an amused look. She flicked her wand at Harry and magically clothed him in a second.

Harry gasped. "Hey!" he protested.

"You can run around starkers later," she promised before nodding to the door. "We have a guest." Harry pouted. She fought valiantly against his big green eyes, which the little boy knew could weaken her to any cause. "Dinner's ready, you're just in time." Hermione flicked her wand and another place setting appeared at the table. She smiled at the two older wizards. "Come on."

Remus exchanged an amused smile with Sirius before placing his cloak on a hook along with Sirius' leather jacket. She helped Harry into his booster seat. The little boy eyed the tall wizard across from him wearily. His fingers clung to the sleeve of Hermione's dress.

"Harry, this is your Uncle Remus." She smiled at Remus before turning her attention back to Harry. "Say, 'hello,'" Harry mumbled something incoherent.

Hermione took it as a victory. She patted Harry's head and he released her sleeve. "Sirius, can you help me bring everything over?" She could do it with magic, but Sirius tended to respond positively when she asked for his help. She'd taken to leaving little things for him to do around the flat.

"Sure thing." He jumped to his feet and helped carry over the food. Hermione pulled something from the freezer to defrost in the sink. When everything was set up, Hermione served a plate of food to Remus piled high with extra food.

The werewolf's eyes boggled. "This is too much," he protested, eyeing the pile of steak, potatoes, and vegetables with longing.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "When you come to my home for dinner, you are required to eat all your calories. Problem?"

Remus looked between Hermione's stern expression and Sirius' amused one. His cheeks turned pink at the casual reference to his increased need in food due to his condition. She knew what he was. He swallowed. "As long as it's not a problem for you?"

Sirius rolled his eyes as he turned to cutting up Harry's steak for him. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Just don't eat my hidden chocolate bars and we'll be fine."

Sirius' head shot up. "What hidden chocolate?"

Hermione smiled sweetly and walked around the table to her seat. Sirius eyed her with faux distrust. He finished up helping Harry and went around to his own seat across from her. "What else have you been hiding in this flat?"

She raised an eyebrow challengingly as a slow smirk spread across her face. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Remus snorted out a laugh. "You're right. She's just like Alice."

"Alice Longbottom?" Hermione asked, her eyes darting between them.

Remus nodded sadly. "She was a few years older than us, but Sirius was quite close with the Longbottoms when he was an auror." He turned to his friend who was picking at his food.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh, right. I forgot you were an auror. I…" Her cheeks turned pink and she looked at Remus.

The werewolf shrugged. "He told me. I hope that's not a problem either?"

She quickly shook her head. "Of course not. I would have said something myself, if the Department hadn't essentially gagged me." She turned her attention back to her husband. "I remind you of Alice?"

Sirius looked up and smiled grimly. "Didn't I mention that?" Hermione looked unamused. She couldn't help but wonder if Sirius had thought the same of her in her time.

"I never knew you were close to the Longbottoms," Hermione pressed gently. Sirius' descent into madness suddenly made a lot more sense. The Potters gone, Remus with the packs, Peter having betrayed them. Not long later, the Longbottoms were tortured into insanity. They must have been his only support at the time. When Sirius only shrugged in response, she decided to ask, "Did you meet Neville?"

Sirius and Remus both raised their eyebrows. As they saw her smile, it seemed to click in their minds at the same time that Hermione would have known Neville personally. He was in the same year as Harry - in the same year as her. "He's absolutely wonderful. A kind friend and a very brave wizard. A wonderful addition to Gryffindor."

Sirius smiled. He could feel his tears lodged in his throat. "They'd be proud?"

"The proudest." She reached across the table and took Sirius' hand. "We should take Harry over to see Neville. I'm sure both boys could do well with a regular playmate."

Sirius nodded. "That sounds like it'd be good… for Harry." Hermione tilted her head as she smiled warmly. Remus watched them silently, slightly in awe of the girl before him. She really was what Sirius had said… _a ray of sunshine_.

Hermione turned her smile on the werewolf. "And what did you two get up to today?"

"We went to the muggle pub around the corner."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I'm not _your_ wife, so I'm _not_ going to remind you how detrimental to your health it is to drink so soon after the full moon." Remus' cheeks turned pink. "Eat all your food, the calories will help." She turned her attention to Harry and helped him reach his sippy cup. He looked up at her with his big green eyes as he drank.

"No lecture for me?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"You didn't drink," she responded without even looking away from Harry.

"Got a canine sense of smell there I didn't know about?"

The witch turned back to her dinner with a small, amused smile. "'A keen observer and an intelligent mind,'" she quoted.

"_Hogwarts, A History_?" Remus guessed, recognizing the quote in the chapter about Rowena Ravenclaw.

Hermione nodded. "It's my favourite book."

"_That's_ your favourite book?" Sirius questioned, stunned. Remus kicked his foot. "I mean, that's your favourite book?" he repeated in a more intrigued tone of voice.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Tease away, I'm used to it. I know I'm a swot." She sniffed and pretended to be unaffected.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "How did you become friends with Harry?" Sirius looked up from his plate, immediately curious.

Harry also looked up when he heard his name. He was using his fingers to eat a piece of broccoli, having foregone his fork. Hermione smiled at him. "He saved me from a mountain troll." She looked up at the shocked expressions on the wizards' faces. "You know what they say about bonds forged in… troll killing."

Both wizards were silent for a long moment.

Sirius turned to Remus. "I don't even know how to respond to that."

\/

Harry had finally gone down not long after dinner. He was snuggled up in bed with his toy Prongs, which he never went anywhere without since Sirius had given it to him. Hermione quietly closed the bedroom door behind her as she slipped back into the main room.

She turned to find Sirius and Remus on the couch, chatting quietly. Remus smiled and nodded at her. He gestured to the end of the couch. "Join us?"

Hermione moved to do so and paused when she remembered the cake she had taken out to defrost. "Oh! I almost forgot." Hermione disappeared into the kitchen and cut the chocolate dessert. She levitated over a slice each when she was done.

"Cake?" Sirius exclaimed excitedly. "What's the occasion? Wait - don't say. Let me just enjoy this moment." He brought the cake close and breathed deeply.

Remus snorted at his friend's antics. "I take it desserts aren't often allowed?"

Hermione laughed and sat down on the other end of the couch, Sirius between the two of them. She leaned back against the armrest and curled her legs under herself. "If I let Harry, he'd eat nothing but chocolate."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Remus gave a roguish smile and took a bite of the cake. He paused and his eyes fell shut as he moaned. "This… this is the best cake I've ever had."

"I know." She smiled and took her own bite of cake. "We got it for you on your last birthday. You fell in love with it and Sirius sent me out to buy a second one, all for you."

Remus smiled at that. He turned to Sirius who was smiling strangely at the slice of cake before him. "You knew me well? You know, beyond being your professor?"

"Of course. Not only are you a family friend of the Potters, but you are Sirius' best friend. You lived with all of us at Grimmauld Place."

"Why did we live there?" Sirius asked. He had a million questions and if Hermione was being forthcoming for once, he was going to take full advantage.

"It was the Order Headquarters in my time," she explained. "I lived there after fourth year and again after fifth. The Weasley's stayed there with us the first summer. Members would come and go and meetings were held in the basement."

Sirius grinned vaguely. "I can't even imagine that. The Order running out my mother's home?" He snorted in amusement.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, she wasn't a huge fan of it. She'd scream and shriek from her portrait at the slightest sound." Sirius froze. He looked up at Hermione, his eyes widening. His mother was dead? Obviously, she was dead, but… he'd never really thought about it before. Hermione's eyes widened when she realized what she'd just revealed. "Sirius, I -"

"- It's fine."

"No, it's not!" she protested.

"She's a bitch," Sirius snapped. "She's been killing my father for _years_. Everything would be different if she hadn't of managed that. If he had still been around…" Remus looked past Sirius to Hermione.

The witch leaned forward. She touched his arm. "She's still your mother." He glared at the tele and said nothing.

Remus looked back and forth between the two. "I feel like I'm missing something."

Hermione squeezed Sirius arm in comfort. "I'll get us some glasses of milk." She went into the kitchen and busied herself as Sirius quietly explained things to Remus. It was new and raw, what Walburga had done to Orion. The trial was still a few weeks away and Sirius hadn't decided if he was going to speak on her behalf or against it… or not at all.

"I mean," he was saying when she came back, "on the one hand, even when she hated me she still spoke on my behalf at the trial. On the other hand, she tried to murder dad."

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "To be fair, she spoke on your behalf saying you were a Death Eater that sold out your friends."

Sirius nodded. "There is that." He took his glass of milk from her as she sat back down beside him. She curled her leg under her body and her knee pressed against his thigh. Sirius automatically rested his hand on her thigh. Their bond sparked like a match between them. Hermione's cheeks turned pink. She sipped from her glass, using to cover up her sudden shyness. Sirius turned his head toward her and smiled awkwardly.

Remus cleared his throat, looking beyond amused. "When do you have to give your answer?"

"Not for a while yet."

Remus shrugged. "I think you should wait on it. Things with your family have never been… easy," ended with a lack of a better word.

Sirius snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'll say."

* * *

Remus! My favourite werewolf. Finally, our BFF has returned. Hopefully a turning point for Sirius. It's been pretty rough for him. Their little flat is about to get real crowded XD

Still working on this story, but very... very slowly. On the one hand, I'm living in South Korea now and loving it and doing so much! But on the other hand, I'm always too tired to work. Fanfic is also a coping mechanism for me. So I mean, the happier I am, the less likely I am to write. Sorry )not sorry) to report that I'm very happy right now.

BUT, I'm still writing. Mostly this story and As It Should Be. Updates will just be pretty sporadic. I probably won't update a new chpater until I have a future one fully finished. That way I can stay ahead of it!

Thanks for reading!

xx


	11. Chapter Eleven

_Chapter Eleven_

_\- April 1983 -_

The flat was a mess. Harry's toys were scattered across the dining area. Crayons left a minefield on the floor. The living room had been turned into a blanket fort, held up precariously by a broomstick. The kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off. It was a disaster.

A few hours prior, an exhausted Hermione had been persuaded by the two Marauders to go take a nap. Harry had been over the moon to play 'big boy games' as he called it. Reluctantly, Hermione agreed. Two hours later, all three wizards had destroyed the flat.

And now here they were, attempting to teach Harry muggle baseball - inside. In hindsight, they should have seen how that was a bad idea. Remus had transfigured a broom into a t-ball stand and Sirius had produced an actual bat from his closet. They set a ball on the top of the stand and showed Harry how to swing the bat.

"Alright," Sirius declared. "Let me show you how it's done." He swung the bat at the ball. A loud crash sounded as it hit a mirror. The class shattered and fell to the floor. Harry screamed in fright.

"Padfoot!" Remus shouted.

Sirius winced. He turned to where Harry had been standing but the boy was gone. He heard a whimper and spun towards it. Harry was hiding under the kitchen table. He had his arms over his head. "Harry! Harry, it's okay." He moved a chair aside and Harry screamed.

The bedroom door opened. Hermione dashed out and her eyes widened at the sight before her. "What happened out here?" She had tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes were red. She didn't look like she'd slept well at all.

"We were playing a game," Remus explained weakly. He eyed her frazzled state with worry.

Sirius looked over the top of the kitchen table. "Harry got scared," he quickly put in.

Hermione raced around the table and crouched down beside him. "Harry, sweetie?" He had his arms around his knees and his face hidden. His shoulders shook with what she knew were silent tears.

Hermione wiped away the tears from her face. "Harry, please come out. I'm here, darling. I'm right here." She reached a hand out and gently touched his messy black hair. Harry leaned into the soft caress.

"'Mione…" he cried.

"Sh… It's okay, sweetie." He crawled out from under the table and into her waiting arms. She pulled him into her embrace and pressed a kiss to his head. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Scary," he sobbed, his other words were lost in her jumper.

"I know, darling. I know." She stood with him still in her arms. "Come on, I think we've had enough play time today, yes?" He nodded into her neck.

Remus stepped forward. "Hermione…" He reached a hand out towards her in apology.

Hermione flinched away. "Just… clean this mess up." The bedroom door closed softly behind her.

Remus turned to his best friend. "What just happened?"

Sirius had his eyes narrowed as he stared after where Hermione had disappeared off to. "I'm not sure. Have you ever tried to touch her before?" His mind cast back to all the interactions he remembered seeing between Hermione and Remus since the latter had moved in.

"No, I mean yes. I mean Harry. What happened to Harry?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "I told you how he was after the Dursleys."

"Yeah, but I thought… He seemed fine the past two weeks."

Sirius scoffed. "Nah, Hermione's just a miracle worker. Haven't you noticed how quiet she likes to keep the place?"

"I thought she was just being respectful to neighbours."

Sirius nodded once like he'd never considered that before. Remus rolled his eyes. The animagus nodded to his friend. "But what about that flinch?" he pressed, his mind still stuck on his distraught wife.

"The attack?" Remus guessed.

Sirius hummed. His eyes were still firmly fixed on the door. "We haven't talked about it beyond what I said."

"She hasn't dealt with it," Remus agreed.

Sirius licked his lips as he thought. "Let's get this place cleaned up. She'll have our bollocks if we don't." Remus made a sound of agreement. The two of them got to work.

When Hermione exited the bedroom an hour later, the flat was clean. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she whispered to them. Remus nodded once. Sirius jumped from the couch to his feet.

"Grab your coat."

"What?"

"We've got to go take care of a few things."

"What things?" she asked defensively. "I can't leave. Harry's napping."

Sirius shrugged on his leather jacket. "Which means he won't even know you're missing." He pulled her jean jacket off the coat wrack and held it out for her.

Hermione looked to Remus for backup. "If he wakes up?"

"I'll be here," the werewolf assured. Hermione made a face. That clearly wasn't the reaction she was hoping for.

"But-"

"-Come on," Sirius urged. He helped her into her jacket. "You need to cut the cord at some point." She glared over her shoulder at him. Sirius rested his hands on her shoulders. His heat spread through her body and tingled with the magic of their bond. "He'll be fine," he whispered.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay." She spun around. "For how long?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

"_Sirius_…" she groaned.

He smirked and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Come on. We're running late as it is."

"For what?"

He didn't respond. He guided her out the door and down to the ground floor. They stepped out onto Diagon Alley together. Sirius led her around the side of the building. Her eyes widened when she saw what was waiting for them. His motorcycle.

"You got it back?"

Sirius grinned at her comment. "You've seen it? Gone for a ride?"

Hermione snorted. "As if."

"Well, we're going to today." He grabbed the handle bars and kicked up the stand. He walked the bike out from the alley. When he reached the street, he looked over his shoulder to his wife. "Coming?"

Hermione jogged to catch up. "I'm not riding that thing."

"Why not? You've ridden far more dangerous things."

She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if he knew about her fly from Scotland to London on the back of a thestral. "Have I?" She hadn't told him about that, had she?

He threw her a wink. "Of course. You rode me, didn't you?"

Hermione let out a startled laugh. "Sirius!" Before she could think up a comeback, they'd reached the entrance to the Leaky. "Can we bring this in here?"

"Yeah, Tom doesn't mind. Just gotta disillusion it before I take it through to muggle London. Come on." She opened the door and followed Sirius through the crowded bar. He disillusioned the bike while she held the door open for him. When Sirius had the bike on the street, he dropped the spell. Not a single muggle seemed to notice it's sudden appearance.

Sirius swung a leg over the bike and nodded at her to hop on.

Hermione made a face. "Do I have to?"

"She broke into the Department of Mysteries and _this_ she balks at," he deadpanned, as if speaking to a third person.

"I don't like flying," she protested.

Sirius gave her a look. "We're in muggle London, baby. What makes you think I'm going to make it fly?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Don't call me that."

"Get on the bike, _baby_." His tone brokered no alternative. She sighed and got on the bike behind him.

"Helmets?" she asked. Sirius' laugh was her only answer as he gunned the engine. He took off down the street. Hermione squealed and wrapped her arms around his waist. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed herself against his back. She heard Sirius whoop with glee. Merlin, she was married to a madman.

Sirius weaved between cars and through traffic without a care in the world. Not a single cop car caught them. Hermione suspected that Sirius had charmed his bike so the police wouldn't notice them. By the time they reached their destination, Hermione felt like she'd been on the longest roller coaster of her life. "Is it over?" she whimpered.

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Yeah, you can let go now. Or not, I don't mind." She groaned and immediately let go. Sirius couldn't contain his chuckle at her reaction. He followed her off the bike.

"Where are we?" She looked over her shoulder at the long stretch of driveway they'd come down. There was neatly mowed green grass surrounding the property and tall trees along the edges. Big bushes and evergreen trees dotted the land along the driveway.

There was a massive house before them made of cream coloured stucco and a brown roof. She could see another, separate building around the back made of brown brick. It was a manor.

"Not that far outside London. Five bedrooms, three baths. What do you think?" He hopped up the steps and opened the front door.

A feeling of dread filled Hermione. "Please tell me you didn't buy this place." She followed him into the house. It was bright and airy. It had a homey feel to it.

"Not yet, thinking 'bout it." He turned to her. "Why? You don't like it?"

"It's a monster of a house, Sirius." She crossed her arms. "Just because the flat is too small doesn't mean we need to buy a mansion."

"It's not a mansion," he argued. He took her hand and led her through to the kitchen. He pointed out the window over the sink. "See that? The house? It's a single with a kitchen and a bath. I figured Remus could live there if he wants more space."

Hermione turned and shot him a look. "Remus would immediately assume that meant you didn't actually want him around." Sirius opened his mouth but no words came out. "I refuse to live on this much square footage. It's useless. It's what rich people do when they can't think of a better use for their money."

"Oi."

Hermione crossed her arms and cocked her hip to the side. "Harry will need to be enrolled in school in the fall. If he's downtown then he'll be closer to the school, which is good for extracurriculars. And then there are parks and after-school activities." She wanted Harry involved in all the things he'd missed the first time around.

"Muggle school?" Sirius asked, sounding confused but not all that surprised.

"Lily was a muggle-born. So am I." She shrugged. "I know that I'd want _my_ son to know about my heritage. It's his as well."

Sirius smiled. "Lily would agree. Alright, something smaller?" Hermione shrugged. "Brilliant, next one then."

"Wait - what? Next one? How many of these do you have lined up?"

He shrugged. "As many as it takes."

Hermione didn't like the sound of that. Three houses later and she hated it.

Sirius pulled up to the next place. It was only about twenty minutes from Grimmauld Place. Hermione had expected to hate it the second she realized they were basically right around the corner from Buckingham Palace. As nice as it would be to live a short walk away from the palace gardens and St. James' Park, it would be weird living near so many professionals.

She really did expect to hate it, but it was beautiful. It was four floors, not including the basement and styled in that classic tall, lean way downtown London homes often were. The basement and first levels were white and the upper three floors were made of brown brick. White paneled windows were placed symmetrically across the row of homes all attached to one another.

Sirius opened the door and led her inside. The living room was big and spacious. The kitchen was long and clean and filled with state of the art appliances. "There are two ovens," Hermione gasped with awe. She'd never seen a home with two ovens before. There was a long counter that stretched through the kitchen and towards the glass kitchen table. On the other side were glass doors that led out to the deck. Lining the backyard were planters filled with flowers. Hermione could already imagine the magical herbs she could grow there.

Down the wooden steps there was another set of doors that led to the basement apartment. It was built with large bookcases that were built into the walls. The bathroom had a tall glass standing shower.

"We'd have to renovate that," she told him, nodding to the shower. He peeked over her head, his hands on her shoulders. "Remus needs a bath after the full moon."

"That's an easy fix."

She hummed in agreement.

The second floor had a big study filled with bookcases. The windows looked out over the front porch. There was also a bedroom and a bath on that floor. On the third floor was the master bedroom, a walk in closet, and an ensuite bathroom. Right next to it was a smaller bedroom and a hall bath. The fourth floor had the last bedroom and bath as well as a rec room.

"I like it," Hermione claimed as she looked through the books in the library.

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Not a lot of space in the backyard, but we're right by the park and real close to the Leaky. And we're right downtown."

"And it's not a million years old," she added, referring to the third house they'd looked at.

"And Remus won't feel like he's being kicked out by living in the basement."

"He even has the option to live in a different room. He could take the top floor." She picked up one of the books and flipped through it.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her. "Not the one on this floor?" he asked, curious for her response after she flinched away from Remus earlier.

Hermione shook her head. "I thought your dad might like it. He used to be a lawyer in the Wizengamot, right? I'm sure he'd like to be close to the study."

Sirius smiled at her logic. She was selflessly considerate. It startled him everytime she instantly thought of someone else first. Not just because he rarely did, but because they were often people that mattered more to him. "So… it's not the werewolf thing?"

Hermione put the book back. She turned to him. "What're you talking about? You know I have no issues with Remus' condition."

He nodded. He did know that. At times, he thought she might take better care of Remus than she did of him. She was constantly making sure Remus was eating enough calories and getting enough sleep. New articles of clothing randomly popped up in his bag when he wasn't looking. It was a lot like the way James had always been with Remus. Both remaining Marauders took comfort in it.

"I know you have nightmares," Sirius explained slowly. Hermione immediately tensed. "And I've seen you get antsy with strangers and I figured that had more to do with the time travel stuff… Moony is family and I know you think so too, but he's also the only man you've really been around besides me."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "What're you trying to say, Sirius?"

"Did he touch you?"

"Who?"

"The one who attacked you. I know he hurt you," Sirius added quickly when she looked like she was going to fib about it. Hermione shut her mouth, "I read Kingsley's report. You said… he was obsessed with you? Hermione did he…?"

"_No_," she immediately assured. "But he tried." Her brows drew together. "It happened months ago now."

"Just because he didn't… it doesn't mean it's not still traumatizing." Hermione looked away. "You can tell me anything, Hermione. I won't hurt you. I won't judge you." Sirius brought his hands up to her arms and squeezed them in a comforting manner. The magic thrummed through their contact. "You need to talk about it."

Her gaze hardened. "Have you talked about James and Lily?" she snapped.

Sirius' fingers tightened. "Yes, actually. With Remus. It sort of occured to me that you can't do the same. This isn't exactly a topic Harry can handle at his age."

Her anger slowly ebbed away at his response. She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Please, at my age, he'd probably go ballistic and kill the bloke."

"Well, good to know he got something from his godfather."

Hermione laughed despite herself. Her eyes teared up as she thought about what this time's Sirius would do if he found out the whole truth. If he knew it was Snape who'd hurt her, he'd go crazy. If she didn't tell him anything, he'd keep searching for answers and she didn't want that. Her bottom lip wobbled. "I… he was always mean," she whispered. "He picked on me relentlessly ever since I was a first year."

A wave of rage crashed through his body. "He was your _professor_?"

She nodded. "When I became fifteen… he started to make me uncomfortable. Just with the way he looked at me. I… didn't like it. You and Remus told me to stay away from him." She looked up at him. "You specifically told me to never be alone with him, not if I can help it."

"That's why I offered to marry you," he breathed out in realization.

"It was horrible," she explained in a watery whisper. "He was too strong to fight off and I didn't have my wand." Her tears fell. "He's been teaching for _years_." She didn't have to explain that thought any further. If he'd become obsessed with her, how many other girls had it happened to as well?

"Sh…" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "It's okay. He's not here. It's just me. I've got you."

Hermione's body shook as she broke down into sobs. "You - you were there. Just before I disappeared. You were there." He rubbed his hand up and down her back. "It's all gone. Everything's gone."

"Sh…" He held her until her tears dried. Hermione sniffled. Her fingers gripped his now sodden shirt and Sirius pressed a kiss to the top of her head. A wave of warmth spread through her body. The magic of their bond worked to heal her emotional wounds. After a long silence, Sirius said, "Will you tell me who it was?"

That startled a laugh out of her. Sirius jerked back, surprised by her response. "After all the effort I went through to get you _out_ of Azkaban?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Alright, fair point." He pulled her back into his embrace and rested his chin on her head. "Let's get this place, baby."

Hermione nodded against his chest even as she rolled her eyes at his silly pet name. The only pet name she'd ever accept was 'kitten,' but she wasn't about to tell him that. She sniffed and wiped away her tears. "Yeah, okay."

When they got back to the flat, Harry was in the middle of a massive meltdown.

"I want cookie!" he screamed.

"No more cookies," Remus stated firmly.

"What's going on?"

Harry turned to Hermione. There were tears streaming down his face as he sobbed. His words were nearly incoherent except for a stray "Moony" and "no cookie." Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You know the rules on cookies, Harry."

"_Please_," he cried, sounding like he thought he'd die if he didn't get another cookie right away.

Hermione shook her head. "It's too late for more sugar. I think it's time for bed." She reached down and picked him up even as he turned away.

"_No…_"

Hermione shushed soothingly as she rubbed his back. "It's been a long day. I think I need a cuddle. Will you cuddle me, darling?" Harry turned and pressed his wet face into her neck. He pouted and didn't say anything at all. "It's alright." She continued to rub his back as she entered the bedroom. "I've got you, sweetie." The door closed behind them.

Remus turned to Sirius. He sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Please tell me you had an easier time than I did."

Sirius nodded and headed towards the fridge. "We talked it out a bit. I think she's okay now. She'll be alright, at least. Nothing happened," he assured. He tossed his friend a butterbeer and opened the other for himself.

Remus nodded and let out a breath of relief. "Thank Merlin for small mercies." He twisted open his drink and took a long gulp. He needed it after dealing with Harry for the past four hours. He didn't know how Hermione did it every day.

"He was her professor. Not just for one year but since she was a first year."

"What?" They sat down on the couch. "I thought he was an Order member? Dumbledore allowed this?"

"Apparently."

Remus made a face. "What sort of men is Dumbledore hiring that the professor is not only a pedophile but a rapist?"

Sirius turned to Remus. "I don't appreciate the fact that you call him a pedophile considering I married her myself, thank you."

His friend rolled his eyes, a small grin on his face. "Yes, but you'd never have the hots for a _child_. You're not a pedophile. You're just a manwhore."

"No doubt about it," Sirius immediately agreed. They were quiet for a moment. "I think she'll be okay. She hadn't talked about it at all. She hasn't got anyone _to_ talk to about it. I… I can't even imagine being in her position."

Remus nodded slowly. "She's got us now. And it might not be in the same capacity, but she's got Harry. And by that I mean he will never desert her. He asked about her every five minutes." Remus took another chug of his beer.

Sirius rubbed his face. "Yeah, she didn't like leaving him alone. We need to work on that." Remus made a noise of assent. Sirius slouched in his seat. He clapped his hand on Remus' thigh. "By the way, we bought a house."

His friend raised his eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?"

* * *

Hello friends! Still alive. ;P

xx


	12. Chapter Twelve

_Chapter Twelve_

_\- May 1983 -_

"You should've said something," Sirius argued again as they made their way through the muggle salvage yard.

Remus rolled his eyes. "It's not a big deal. It's just a job at a shop."

"It's a job!" Sirius exclaimed. He pointed at his best friend. "You're currently the only breadwinner at the flat. You're _the_ breadwinner."

Remus raised an eyebrow at him. "You're rich. I don't think it counts." Sirius shrugged. "Are you going to get a job? Go back to the aurors, maybe?"

Sirius made a face. "You remember when James dropped out after training?" He picked up an old muffler. He was scavenging for motorcycle parts to fix up his bike. Or make a new one, despite how annoyed Hermione would be if he did.

"He said he needed to do something less risky. Fighting in the Order was one thing, but he had to look out for Lily… now that she was pregnant." Remus' eyes widened. He punched Sirius in the arm.

"Ow! What's that for?"

"Did you get Hermione pregnant?"

"What? No!" Remus didn't look convinced. "We're not even sleeping together." Remus looked less convinced at that pronouncement. Sirius glared at him. "Where did you think we'd be shagging? You and I are snuggling on an enlarged couch and Hermione's cuddling with my godson every night. When would we even find the time?" He sighed and Remus was finally pacified. "I _meant_, Harry and Hermione. I don't want to do something dangerous."

"But you are thinking about getting a job?"

Sirius shrugged again. "I guess. Can't really think of anything, though." He scratched at the scruff along his cheek. He kicked a hunk of metal out of their path. "Maybe Minnie will have a few ideas."

"Speaking of, we should head out soon if we don't want to be late."

Sirius looked up at the sky. The sun was already starting to set. "Yeah, alright." They turned the corner of the salvage yard. Sirius came to a sudden stop. His eyes widened. "Bleeding hell, is that?" He rushed forward. "It is!" It was an old, beat up, classic MG Magnette ZA from 1955. "Oh, she's beautiful."

Remus snorted. "She's a bit roughed up." It was an understatement. It was missing two doors and the trunk.

"She just needs some TLC." He opened up the hood. It was missing an engine. "Alright, a lot of TLC."

Remus crossed his arms. "An understatement." He looked over the slightly boxy car. "I didn't realize this was your style."

Sirius grinned and winked. "It's a sports car for the family man. You think Hermione would approve?" He wasn't even embarrassed to ask. If she didn't approve, she wouldn't let Harry in it. If they were going to live in muggle London, Sirius wanted something to drive Harry around in. He didn't like to rely on public transit, especially not of the wizarding kind.

Remus shrugged. "Maybe if you don't show her what it looks like now."

Sirius nodded once in agreement. "I'll let Frankie know I'm taking it. He'll take it to the shop for me to work on. Come on, we've got to head out." He clapped Remus on the back and the two headed back to the main building of the salvage yard. After Sirius paid for the car and the space to fix it up, the two left.

Remus apparated them to Hogsmeade. The streets were busy with students out for their Hogsmeade trip. They skirted around the masses and made their way into the Three Broomsticks. It was packed with people. Sirius waved to Madame Rosmerta.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," she greeted with a sly smile. She leaned forward over the bar and gave him a generous view of her cleavage.

Sirius shook his head in appreciation. "Merlin, Rose. You look beautiful as ever."

Rosmerta winked. "Keep it in your trousers, Black. You're a married man now."

"You're right. _Remus_ on the other hand, you've met Remus." He gestured over his shoulder to the taller wizard.

The werewolf rolled his eyes. He grabbed Sirius by the neck of his leather jacket and forced him away from the bar. "Alright, come on."

"What? I'm just trying to help."

"You're a menace," Remus growled. His anger didn't lessen the blush from his cheeks.

Sirius laughed and allowed himself to be pushed further into the pub.

Minerva saw them first. She raised an eyebrow at the familiar style of manhandling and turned her scolding stare on Remus. "Do I even want to ask?"

Remus shook his head. "It's not even worth it."

"Padfoot!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. Sirius grinned brightly and slid into the booth with Harry and Hermione. His godson gave him a hug. "Let's play!"

Sirius laughed and ruffled Harry's messy hair. "In a bit, we're having dinner with Minnie first." Harry pouted. "Be nice, she's going to be your Head of House one day."

Minnie pursed her lips to hide a smile. "You don't know that." She shifted in her seat so that Remus could join her.

Sirius and Remus both looked to Hermione who smiled awkwardly. "Things could change," she responded weakly. She glanced at her old Head of House, still awkward despite Sirius' assurance that she was in on the secret.

"They won't," Sirius and Remus chorused. "He's a Gryffindor," Sirius continued in a self assured voice. "Isn't that right, Har? You want to go join the Gryffindors, don't you?"

Harry looked up at him with his big green eyes. "With 'Mione?"

Remus and Hermione laughed. "Yes, sweetie." She pressed a kiss to his head. "I'll be there too." A weird feeling crept over her. Will she be there? Would another version of herself still go to Hogwarts? Things hadn't changed enough to stop that, had they?

Before Hermione could descend into a frenzy of paranoia and fear, Remus asked,"Have you three been waiting long?"

"Not at all," Minerva answered. "We just grabbed a table before you two showed up." She slid a butterbeer across the table for each of them. "How are things with you, Remus? It's been too long."

"Not bad… I - uh… I got a job."

Hermione's eyes widened. "What? I didn't know that!"

"Congratulations," Minerva put in and Hermione echoed the professor's statement.

"Where is it?" Hermione questioned. She pushed the toy Prongs away that Harry tried to shove in her face. "Harry," she scolded lightly. They were working on getting him to understand that it was rude to interrupt Hermione in conversations. She was the only person he did it with. Harry pouted and cuddled his toy.

"Just a small shop in Diagon Alley," Remus was explaining as he shrugged. "They sell potions ingredients."

She raised her eyebrows. "And you'll be okay with that?" On a regular day, Remus' increased sense of smell usually put him off of going to the readymade foods section of the grocer. The closer he got to the full moon, the stronger his senses became. He'd once confessed to her - in her original timeline - that he'd nearly failed potions because of his affliction.

Remus shrugged. "I'll handle it fine."

"Do they know?" Sirius asked.

The werewolf shook his head. "I took the day of and the day after off this week. I'll do the same next month."

Sirius and Hermione exchanged a look, but said nothing. Sirius took a sip of his butterbeer to stop himself from making a comment. He knew from experience that it wouldn't last. Remus would quickly become overworked and stressed out. It was the same thing that always happened. What Remus needed was a job that knew about his lycanthropy and cared to give him leeway. Unfortunately, a job like that would be nearly impossible to find in the wizarding world.

"That sounds lovely, dear," Minerva stated when the couple across from her clearly had nothing positive to say. "I'm very happy for you." Remus smiled at her praise. Their professor turned her gaze on Sirius. "And you seem to be doing better… considering."

Sirius winced and nodded. "Yeah, things have been weird."

"Have you talked to your mother?" Sirius' snort said it all. Minerva's lips pressed into a tight line.

Hermione shot Minerva an understanding look. She was also of the opinion that Sirius should talk to his mother. Walburga had been in custody for over a month now. The lawyers still needed to know if Sirius would even be speaking at her trial. Remus was on the fence about it, deciding to stay silent on the matter. Hermione wished she could say she was surprised, but it was pretty standard for him.

"Anyways," Sirius drawled as he changed the topic, "we bought a house."

"Really?" Minerva went along with the change in topic smoothly.

Rosmerta stopped by their table, a mug filled with crayons in her hand. "Here you go, darling." She set it on the table with a couple of parchments of paper.

"Thank you, Rosmerta," Hermione said with a smile.

Rose smiled at Harry and winked. "Anything for our handsomest patron."

Sirius' brows drew together as the bar owner left. "I'm almost offended." Remus snorted in amusement.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she pulled the sheets of parchment towards her. She dumped out the crayons and set Harry up with his activity while Sirius explained to Minerva about the house they'd bought.

"It's big. Beautiful. Modern. Muggle, but real close to the Leaky." He took a sip of his butterbeer. "And we'll have a car to go with it."

"Harry is _not_ getting on the motorcycle."

Sirius leaned closer to her over Harry's head. "I bought a car."

Hermione's head shot up. "Since when?"

"'bout ten minutes ago." She raised an eyebrow. "It's a classic 1955, two door with four wheels. There's nothing to worry about. I just need to fix her up a bit."

Hermione narrowed her eyes on him. "I'll believe it when I see it."

He leaned closer, a devious little twinkle in his eye that she knew all too well. "You'll love it, buttercup." Hermione wrinkled her nose and made a sound of disgust that was echoed by Professor McGonagall.

"_What_ is that?" the professor demanded, aghast.

Sirius smiled broadly. "I'm trying to find a good pet name."

Minerva snorted and took a sip of her firewhiskey. "Keep looking," she commented in an undertone, her Scottish brogue coming through. Hermione laughed.

"He hasn't stopped since we went house hunting," she confided in the older witch, looking for sympathy. "At least you missed 'sugar plum' and 'dollface.'"

Sirius raised his finger. "I stand by 'dollface.'" He winked at her and Hermione rolled her eyes, even though she was smiling. "And it's your own fault that this has continued. I was fine with 'baby.'"

Hermione sighed. She tipped her head towards the older witch. "I may have made a comment about how Sirius… _before_… had a nickname for me."

McGonagall shook her head as she sipped her firewhiskey. "You threw yourself into that hole, lass."

"Just tell me what it was," Sirius pleaded.

"No."

"A hint."

Hermione pursed her lips and helped Harry as he crawled closer to her. She plopped him in her lap and let him continue colouring. Hermione turned to Sirius and narrowed her eyes as she thought. "You'll have to wait until October."

"_October_?" His eyes widened. "October? So, it's something you can dress up as. A witch? Did I call you 'little witch?'"

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "When I was thirteen."

Sirius nodded and looked away. "Never calling you _that_ again," he decided. The others laughed. The night progressed well. Dinner was served and the banter around the table flowed easily.

Remus took Harry to the loo while Sirius went up to the bar to pay their tab. Hermione turned to her old professor with an eager smile in place. "I have a favour to ask of you."

Minerva raised her eyebrows in interest. "Oh?"

She licked her lips nervously. "I was wondering if you had any pictures of James and Lily? I wanted to collect as many as I could to create an album." She'd gotten the idea from Hagrid and the album he'd given Harry his first year of school. "I could show it to Harry like a storybook every night."

Minerva smiled. "That's a wonderful idea. I know I have a few. I'll ask around for you for some others."

"Thank you so much." Her eyes teared up and she blinked quickly to keep them at bay. "This has been wonderful. I'm really glad we finally got to do it."

Minerva reached across the table and took her hands. "I'd like to make it more frequent. We should set a regular Hogsmeade date."

Hermione nodded eagerly. "I'd really like that. Thank you, professor." She quickly wiped away the happy tear that fell.

"'Mione! 'Mione!" Harry cried out happily, breaking up their moment. He crawled up onto the booth and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Ice cream now?"

Hermione laughed. "Sure, sweetheart. Let's grab some in the Leaky on our way home." Harry cheered.

\/

Harry raced across the grass with Prongs in his hand. He jumped around and made noises as he flew the deer through the air. He ran quickly and for a moment he was so fast he felt his feet float off the ground. He stumbled and fell.

He landed on his hands and knees. Harry shook his head and jumped back to his feet. He brushed off his hands and picked Prongs back up. He turned when he heard 'Mione's voice and waved his hand high in the air. She was probably telling him to be careful. She was always doing that. He liked it.

Harry turned back around and his attention was caught by a young blonde woman wiping ice cream from a boy's face. He looked about Harry's age and had bright blonde curly hair. He watched as the boy thanked the woman and called her "mummy."

Harry hugged his toy Prongs to his chest. He wanted a mummy. She was gone, he knew. Uncle Vernon used to say his mummy and daddy hadn't wanted him and neither did they. Harry pouted just thinking about it. It'd been a long time since he'd thought about his aunt and uncle.

The boy held out a bouquet of hand picked flowers and said, "For you mummy."

"Thank you, sweetie."

'Mione called him "sweetie" too. She also wiped his face and kissed his ouchies. She gave the best hugs and she always had time to cuddle with him. Most importantly, Hermione wanted him. She took him away from his aunt and uncle. She'd promised to always be with him. Harry decided then that 'Mione would be the perfect mummy. He wanted her to be his mummy.

Hermione had assured him that his mummy and daddy loved him very much. They would be with him if they could. But they weren't there. Hermione was there. Hermione was going to be his mummy, he decided firmly.

He turned around and searched for some wild flowers. He saw a patch of bright yellow buttercups and raced over to them. He picked a handful of them before heading back towards the others.

Harry went up to 'Mione on the picnic blanket between Moony and Padfoot. He held out the flowers. "For mummy."

Hermione's eyes widened. Everyone tensed, though Harry didn't notice. He smiled sweetly at his new mummy. "... th - thank you, sweetie." Harry's smile widened. He wrapped his arms around her neck and snuggled into her chest. Hermione turned wide, frantic eyes on her husband. Sirius shot a look to Remus who quickly separated Harry and Hermione.

"Let's go for a walk near the water, alright, Harry?" He took the boy by the hand and led him away.

Hermione was up like a shot. She raced away from their picnic blanket and down a path lined with trees. Sirius jumped up and raced after her. "Hermione!" She kept running. They turned the bend, well out of Harry and Remus' line of sight before she finally stopped.

Hermione pressed her hands against the rough bark of a tree trunk as she gasped for breath. Her eyes flooded with tears as the sobs escaped her. Sirius stopped a few feet away. His shoulders dropped as he sighed. He let her cry it out for a moment before he felt it was time to intervene.

Sirius gently touched her back. Hermione gasped in a breath and stilled. She didn't turn away from the tree. Sirius took hold of her arm and gently turned her around. Hermione buried her face into his chest.

"Sh… it's okay," Sirius soothed. "Lily wouldn't be upset." He was actually fairly certain that Lily would have thrown a tantrum of epic proportions if her son called anyone else 'mummy,' but didn't think Hermione needed to hear that.

She shook her head. "I - I don't care," she sobbed. "I - It's not fair." Hermione looked up at him, her eyes almost golden from the effect of her tears. He tightened his arms around her on reflex. She sobbed against him. "I'm _seventeen_," she cried. "I - I didn't even get to finish Hogwarts." Sirius fought not to stiffen at that revelation. He hadn't known that. "I'm too young to be a mum. I never wanted to be a… I can't…" She shook her head as her words grew lost amongst her cries.

Sirius pressed a comforting kiss to the top of her head. His hand ran up and down her back, soothing her much the same way Hermione often did for Harry. "It's okay. It's going to be okay," he whispered.

Hermione pulled back and looked up at him. Her face was splotchy and her eyes puffy. "What do we say to him?"

Sirius shrugged, lost for an easy way out. "What _can_ we say? Could you tell him no about something like this?"

She didn't respond. Her silence said more than any words could.

* * *

Well, this is a short chapter. It's been a while since I updated and honestly, it's been a while since I worked on this story. Hopefully, that changes soon. I still have some chapters done, lots planned to happen in the future, and there are some things I'm super stoked about getting to so... I haven't given up on it, is what I'm trying to say.

Thanks for reading!

xx


End file.
